The "ban the box" campaign continues to take hold across the country. Currently 21 states and Washington D.C. require private employers to remove the conviction history question on a job application and delay the background check inquiry until later in the hiring process. Advocates say this change would help ex-offenders in the job process and assist them in transitioning back into society. These initiatives delay the background check until later in the hiring process, providing applicants with a criminal record a fair chance by removing the conviction history question.
Those 21 states include: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Seven states—Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon and Rhode Island—have also removed the conviction history question on job applications for private employers.
In addition to the states listed above, more than 100 cities have also adopted ban the box legislation. The District of Columbia and 27 cities and counties also now extend the fair-chance policy to government contractors or private employers. Of the localities, Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbia (MO), the District of Columbia, Montgomery County (MD), New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Portland (OR), Prince George’s County (MD), Rochester, San Francisco, and Seattle even extend their fair-chance laws to private employers in the area.
