Recycler's refusal to hire Gerald Turner is illegal, agency finds 'Halloween Killer' ruling fuels convict-employment conflict By Jessica McBride of the Journal Sentinel staff Last Updated: Aug. 25, 1999 Waste Management of Madison discriminated against convicted "Halloween Killer" Gerald Turner when it refused to hire him for a job at a recycling center where children are given tours, a state agency has ruled in a preliminary report. Waste Management, which doesn't want to hire Turner because of the brutal nature of his crime, is fighting the state Department of Workforce Development's ruling. And that ruling is adding fuel to some lawmakers' efforts to give employers more say in whether they give convicts jobs. Waste Management alleges that the recycling job Turner wants would give him access to "dangerous materials and weapons, used hypodermic needles, and BB guns," according to state records. Further, the company says, the recycling center - at 2418 W. Badger Road in Madison - gives frequent tours to grade-schoolers, Scout troops and other groups of adolescents. There were 15 tours during the 1998-'99 school year, according to the records. "Educating adults and children about recycling is part of this facility's mission," Waste Management spokeswoman Lynn Morgan said. Morgan declined to speak about Turner's case. The job he is seeking involves sorting recyclables at the center, which processes most recycled materials in Dane County. Turner was convicted of second-degree murder, child enticement and sexual assault of a child in the 1973 rape and murder of 9-year-old Lisa Ann French, a Fond du Lac girl who disappeared while trick-or-treating. His case sparked the state's sexual predator law after he was released in 1992 into a Milwaukee halfway house. Turner now lives in a halfway house in Madison. The Department of Corrections sought unsuccessfully to revoke Turner's parole a year ago, saying he waved a butcher knife at a caseworker while working as a cook at the halfway house. Waste Management maintains, according to state records, that it has hired more than 30 people since May who have been convicted of such crimes as battery, burglary and robbery. But the company wants nothing to do with Turner. "Our policy is to comply with all applicable employment laws regarding people with criminal records. Decisions regarding those individuals are made on a case-by-case basis," Morgan said. Under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, employers must show that a convict's job would be "substantially" related to the conviction in order to deny employment. Wisconsin is one of just 10 states that accord employment protection to people with criminal histories. Some professions, such as health care, law enforcement and firefighting, are exempt from that protection. State Equal Rights Officer Charles M. Phelan ruled in late July that there was probable cause to believe Waste Management violated the Fair Employment Act because the recycling job is not substantially related to Turner's convictions. "Turner would be under some supervision while at work . . . and there would be little opportunity for any activity other than the work at hand," Phelan wrote. "(Turner) has stated that he is amenable to making arrangements in the event of any tours that may go through the facility." If Turner is considered unsuitable for sorting recyclables, Phelan added, "it would then appear that he could be lawfully excluded from every other job dealing with other people and with most if not all objects." A hearing is scheduled for Sept. 20 before an administrative law judge. If that judge also finds that Waste Management unlawfully discriminated against Turner, the company can appeal to the state Labor and Industry Review Commission. That's the same commission that came under fire from some lawmakers and educators last week for ruling that Milwaukee Public Schools violated the Fair Employment Act by refusing to hire as a boiler attendant a felon who tossed hot grease on a child. MPS appealed. State Reps. Carol Kelso (R-Green Bay) and Scott Walker (R-Wauwatosa) announced this week that they would introduce legislation either removing the protection for convicts from the Fair Employment Act or exempting schools from it. They said Wednesday that the Turner case gave them more ammunition for the broader bill. And the office of state Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) said Wednesday that she would push a similar proposal. "If that particular employer feels he (Turner) is putting people in jeopardy, they should have the right not to hire him," Kelso said. An identical bill to those being proposed did not make it out of an Assembly committee last year after vigorous opposition from Milwaukee legislators, who argued that people with convictions have a better chance at rehabilitation if they have jobs. Wayne Mixdorf, regional chief of the Department of Corrections in Madison, which supervises Turner, agreed. "I think employment is one of the four critical success factors for an offender making it in the community," Mixdorf said. The other factors are having a stable residence, being involved in treatment and having a mentor, he said. Mixdorf declined to comment specifically on Turner's efforts to gain employment. State records say Turner's parole officer advocates that he receive the recycling job. Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Aug. 26, 1999. BACK TO TOP News | Business | Sports | Entertainment | Classifieds | Jobs | Wheels | Homes | Rentals XML/RSS News Feeds (What's this?) | JSO Wireless © 2005, Journal Sentinel Inc. All rights reserved. | Produced by Journal Interactive | Privacy Policy Journal Sentinel Inc. is a subsidiary of Journal Communications.