Good News for Ban the Box

While this post isn't directly related to writing it touches on an issue I feel strongly about, namely employment for people with a criminal history.

Back in the day, someone convicted of a crime served his time and, when released, had at least a fighting chance of finding a job on the long, hard path to redemption following incarceration.  The general view - and one that, contrary to popular belief, is still held by the majority today - was that someone who had paid his debt to society had a right to a second chance.  The practical aspect is that the approach decreased the chances of recidivism by giving ex-cons hope at least the chance for a future.  The moral aspect is that, to many of us, it just seems right to at least give someone who has served his sentence the chance to start afresh: the moral/Christian/right/[insert your adjective here] thing to do.

Over the past 20 years or so that approach has been severely eroded, making many former prisoners unemployable for life.  The reasons for this include the ubiquity of background checks for virtually all types of employment, from McDonald's to Apple, the increasingly hard line taken by many states and communities against convicts (including ex-convicts), and employment laws that permit employers to ask about criminal backgrounds at the earliest stages of the employment process, and then to refuse employment solely based on conviction history.

This trend in employment to forever ban the convict from the labor market came about at the same time as incarceration rates skyrocketed: given that 65 million Americans now have criminal records that dooms a sizable percentage of the population to the breadlines or to further criminal acts.

In the past several years, a movement has gradually grown to combat this injustice.  The focus at the moment is on a tiny (but catchy sounding) issue called 'ban the box'.  The slogan refers to a prohibition on employers from requesting an applicant's criminal history until the interview stage or following a tentative offer of employment.  Though minor, delaying the asking of this inevitable question at least gives some applicants a fighting chance at a legitimate job.  

At present, most initiatives only 'ban the box' for government jobs, though some states (Minnesota, being a prime example) have finally extended the prohibition to private employers.  Following this lead, Target, which is based in Minnesota, has now banned the box at all its stores nationwide.

Is this the making of a trend?  I certainly hope so.  It certainly seems that many municipalities (approximately 50 to date) are jumping on the band wagon, though we'll know that it has really taken off when we see more states, the federal government and the courts jumping into the fray.  To date, that has not happened: only 10 states have enacted legislation and the EEOC has taken a permissive approach to background checks.

While 'ban the box' is only a tentative half-step in providing ex-offenders with the right to work, and the cities/states/employers that have actually banned the box, it is at least a start in rectifying a large wrong that has been perpetrated against a large segment of the population, forcing many of them to make the difficult choice between endless unemployment and a resumption of criminal activities.