Since “Ban-the Box” legislation has been adopted in some States and Jurisdictions a recent study shows that it may not be having the impact it was designed for. This legislation which removes the check box on job applications that asks if the applicant has a criminal history might be having a reverse effect making it detrimental to minorities most specifically black people.
Under such legislation employers need to wait until a conditional offer is made before being allowed to perform criminal background checks. However recent studies show that Blacks are not even getting to the point in the pre-employment screening process where a conditional offer would be made, and instead are being discriminated against.
The United States already has the highest incarceration rates in the world and needs legislation that helps minorities achieve gainful employment. Up until recently it was widely believed that ban-the-box legislation would help minorities gain employment by removing the criminal history question on the application form, and then in turn would create a level playing field in the employment hiring process. This philosophy has now been criticized due to new evidence uncovered in a recent study.
From the Nation Law Review (NatLawReview.com, Sep 09, 16):
New research by Amanda Agan, a Princeton economist, and Sonja Starr, a legal scholar at the University of Michigan, suggests that, at least in some cases, “ban the box” rules may result in the use of race as a proxy for criminal history. This may increase racial disparity in hiring– even in the absence of criminal histories. (1)
Troubling conclusions came from this research.
The racial gap in callbacks before the ban the box laws was 7% at companies that asked applicants about criminal history. After the laws were enacted, it went up to 45%, suggesting that black applicants were presumed to have a criminal past if the prospective employer was not permitted to inquire. (2)
Reaction to the claims stated in the Agan/Starr research study was swift. Here is an excerpt:
From theAmsterdamNews.com (Aug. 18, 16):
NELP’s analysis reviewed the two studies in question and came to several conclusions: the core problems that were raised in the two studies has nothing to do with ban-the-box polices, but with racism that’s entrenched in the hiring process where Blacks are negatively profiled; the studies don’t support its own conclusions about ban-the-box being a detriment to Blacks looking for a job; the studies highlight the needs for more policies that deal with race discrimination in hiring and boost jobs opportunities for people with records; and ban-the-box has worked by changing some employers attitudes about applicants with records. (2)
Criminal background records can severely impact an individual attempting to reintegrate back into society. Many suggest that without gainful employment recidivism is more likely to occur. Criminal history reports can indicate past offenses and sentencing information. While certain State laws protect how far back in time a criminal record can be used the mere mention of a criminal record can become a limiting factor in fair access to employment. Both the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are tasked with enforcing laws governing the fair and equal use of criminal histories. Along with the broad reach of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, criminal history information as used in the employment screening process is being scrutinized. At this point in time it is clear that more needs to be done to eliminate surface racism on the parts of many employers who were willing to discard black applications simply because of race when they were not permitted to inquire about criminal history anymore. As ban-the-box legislation is being implemented throughout the country, time will eventually tell if it is going to achieve its end in making it easier for Americans with a criminal record to get a job or not.
To read more regarding the recent criticism of ban-the-box legislation and the pros and cons of the legislation and how real life implementation has raised questions about the effectiveness of ban-the-box type laws and what that could mean for minorities read recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release.