By Karl R. Ulrich, Esq. – Sebaly Shillito + Dyer, a Legal Professional Association
When you’re a hiring manager, even the smallest detail – like a checkbox – is significant on employment applications. There is a recent nationwide legislative trend that is curtailing the use of one such box.
According to the December 2016 report by the National Employment Law Project, 24 states, the District of Columbia and more than 150 cities and counties across the U.S. have prohibited public employers from asking about criminal records in an employment application for government jobs. The federal government has already implemented such a rule in the hiring of federal employees. Nine states have gone even further by prohibiting private employers from asking conviction history questions in job applications. This “ban the box” trend has been picking up steam over the past few years.
“Ban the box” refers to that box which traditionally has appeared in applications calling for the would-be employee to check off if they have ever been convicted of a crime. Opponents have said that allowing this question in the application – usually the first step in the hiring process – has the effect of screening out otherwise qualified applicants before they have the fair chance to advocate for themselves in, say, the face-to-face interview.
This doesn’t mean that ban the box jurisdictions prevent employers from ever considering conviction history. Most ban the box laws just prohibit the question at the written employment application stage of the hiring process. Other laws may apply to the rest of the hiring process, depending upon the jurisdiction.
If you hire in a ban the box jurisdiction, you may be forced to think differently about how you consider applicants with a criminal past – or at least the process for doing so. As the economy improves and the labor market tightens, qualified candidates will certainly be harder and harder to find. Therefore, even if you are not in one of those ban the box jurisdictions, you may still need to rethink your views about hiring those with a history.
This material is not intended as legal advice and is for general informational purposes only. Those seeking legal advice should consult directly with legal counsel regarding their specific facts and circumstances.
About the Author
Karl, born in Chicago, moved to Ohio to join Sebaly Shillito & Dyer in 1991. As a firm shareholder since 1994, Karl is a member of the firm’s management team and founder and head of the Labor & Employment Practice Group. Karl focuses primarily on counseling management clients on a wide range of labor and employment matters and immigration compliance.
Karl received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame, and is Board Certified by the Ohio State Bar Association as a Specialist in Labor & Employment Law. He is a member of the Dayton, the Ohio State and the American Bar Associations and the Missouri Bar and admitted to practice in numerous
