Like paid sick leave, employers in many states are
seeing reforms in how they are permitted to ask about criminal background
during the hiring process. Since the “ban the box” campaign began in Hawaii
during the 1990s, the idea has become exponentially more popular with every
year. And yesterday President Obama took steps to expand it even further.
“Ban the Box,” as a concept, has been around for a
while now. The goal is to remove questions about criminal history from an employer’s
initial employment application (thus ridding them of the checkbox on employment
applications) which otherwise limit those formerly incarcerated from advancing
in the workplace. It doesn’t mean that employers can never get that
information, but the legislated requirement normally calls for a delay in the timing
of when potential employers can ask or research about criminal backgrounds.
Going to prison has, in most cases, proved to more negatively affect someone’s
chance at employment than any other type of stigma, and early screening limits
their chances to prove their qualifications. Within the first year of their
release about 60 percent of people can’t find work, and those that
do tend to make about 40 percent less money than their co-workers. By restricting what an
employer accesses during the hiring process, people who served time in prison
will have a chance of finding a job and avoid slipping back into criminal
activity—which people who can’t find work are more likely to do.
And it’s proving popular: Nationwide, over 100 cities and counties have adopted some sort of “ban the box” policy,
representing 19 states. Seven of those states, along with Washington, D.C. and
26 cities have even removed it from the applications for public and private employers. Unsurprisingly, the EEOC has been a long-time supporter of such policies. The President himself called on employers in July to reconsider their
criminal background checks, stopping just short of executive action. After
three months and some pressure from activists, he is apparently through
with waiting.
Obama unveiled
his policy proposals at a press conference in Newark, New Jersey Monday afternoon, stating
that his administration would be announcing new grants to help returning
citizens seize that second chance, and that he would be taking executive action
to ban the box for competitive positions at federal agencies.
“The federal government is a big employer, and like a
lot of big employers, we have a box on job applications that asks if you have a
criminal record. And if you answer yes, a lot of times there’s no callback. We
need to do our part in chaging this; the federal government should not use
criminal history to screen out applicants before we even look at their
qualifications,” said Obama, who was quick to note that the grants offered were
no where near what we need. However he hoped that it would set an example for
the rest of the country to follow.
“We can’t dismiss people out of hand simply because of
a mistake they made in the past…My hope is that with the federal government
also taking action, this becomes a basic principle across our society.”
As it is, the President is contributing to the growing
patchwork of laws surrounding background checks, which some states and major
employers—such as Home Depot, Target, Wal Mart, and more—have embraced, while others have not. In his speech, Obama mentioned that he hoped
Congress would build on Monday’s announcement and pass legislation, such as the Fair Chance Act recently introduced to Congress.
And though it may seem like a liberal move,
Obama noted that this movement has found support on both sides of the aisle.
Which isn’t surprising, given that the U.S. incarcerates at “a rate that is
unequal around the world,” as Obama stated at the press conference, with 2.2
million Americans currently behind bars, and around 70 million Americans who
have some sort of criminal record. With stats like that, it’s likely that more
Americans are going to see “ban the box” coming to a job application near them.
“It is relevant to find out whether somebody has a
criminal record,” said Obama. “But when it comes to the application, we need to
give folks a chance to get through the door.”
Right now there are 2.2 million americans behind bars
we incarcerate people in a rate that is unequal around
the world
5 percent of world pop 25 percent of innmates
disporporitanetly aa and latina
around 70 million americans have some type of criminal
record
1 in 5 almost 1 in 3 americans of working age
a lot of time that record disqualifies you in workinng
our csociety even if you’ve already paid your debt ot society
that’s bad for not only those indi but our econ
bad for our communities which desperately need more
rolemodels who are gainfully employed
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