What does “Ban the Box” really mean?

I’m ashamed to say that as an employer, before becoming a felon, I refused to hire anyone with a criminal record, regardless of what the position was and whether the criminal history was relevant to the job. It’s amazing what serving a prison sentence does to your perspective. Now I openly advocate for hiring returning citizens and the statistics back me that it’s good for the economy, good decreasing recidivism and good for the employer!

When then-President Obama recently announced a series of actions for criminal justice reform, it included an Executive Order to “ban the box” on most federal job applications. In his announcement, President Obama stated that someone who has paid their debt to society should have a chance to rebuild their lives. Yet, we still have a society with almost 80% recidivism, and somewhere around 100 million Americans with a criminal record.

Recidivism is a crisis of gargantuan proportions. Over 89% of all people recidivating are unemployed when they are re-arrested.  Employers that refuse to hire felons could be contributing to higher crime and recidivism rates, when someone returns to crime if they cannot find a decent job or start their own business. Because many felons cannot find adequate work, and many more want to own their own business, I wrote the book Illegal to Legal to give the quick practical steps to starting a successful business. In prison, I learned that the same hustle that can get someone arrested could also give them a new life, if they know the way to go.

“Ban the box” means that the criminal history question is now being removed from federal job applications. That’s progress, but don’t celebrate yet. This is what that means to you, and you will agree, there is still a long way to go.

Employers can still ask about criminal history, it is just illegal now to include it on the job application for most federal jobs, as well as jobs in numerous states and cities. Employers will still ask about criminal history, and the job applicant needs to have a short and convincing answer prepared if they wish to be hired. 

I can tell you from my own experience that reentry is harder to survive than serving time. Being able to make a legitimate living is one of the most important keys to successful reentry, and staying out of prison. Several groups nationally have pushed for “ban the box,” but we won’t see lasting impact on recidivism until one of two things happen. First, we must educate employers on the bottom-line benefits, and the free resources and protections available to them when they hire ex-felons. This doesn’t require a new agency, just citizens that are willing to talk to business owners and hiring managers about the benefits of hiring felons and the costs of not hiring them.

Second, we need to provide a means to help ex-felons start their own businesses. A criminal history doesn’t stop someone from starting his or her own business. New businesses would greatly help our economy, strengthen our nation, and keep many felons from recidivating.  Felon-owned business could provide jobs to other felons, and really show society that we are productive human beings with a lot to offer.

While banning the box helps, all it does is push back during the hiring process when an employer will ask about criminal history. Ban the Box will help if the applicant uses it as an opportunity to sell themselves strongly enough for that employer to hire them despite having a criminal past.