Question:
As an employer, what should I know about ‘ban the box’?
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Answer:
To help employers consider a job candidate’s qualifications, without any type of stigma, more cities and states are prohibiting employers from asking prospective employees, “Have you been convicted of any misdemeanors or felonies?”
The logic behind it: hiring reform is needed for people with convictions, since too often this group of applicants is denied employment due to their criminal history.
Most of the ban the box laws refer to public sector, but many private businesses also are eliminating the question from their applications. More than 15 states and 100 cities and counties have passed some type of “ban the box” legislation while several large employers such as Wal-Mart and Target are modifying their hiring procedures.
To understand if your city, county or state has adopted fair hiring practices, start by using the National Employment Law Project, which advocates on issues affecting low-wage workers, as a resource. Your state may be among those where either the localities have banned the box or have a statewide ban, or both.
In regions where ban the box is present, employers can utilize background checks, but only after a job candidate is offered the position, not before. The employer also retains the right to rescind the job offer if the background check reveals a prior conviction that directly conflicts with the position that has been offered.