With a new administration in the White House new laws are being presented in Congress, ones that may not have had traction recently, and a move to Ban-the-Box as a federal mandate has been reintroduced.
Recent introduction of a bill to mandate Ban-the-Box legislation in both the public and private sector should immediately put hiring managers on alert and ensure current pre-employment background screening policies are compliant by working with a well-qualified third-party background screening agency.
Recently Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Rep. David Trone (D-MD) presented the Workforce Justice Act, an act that would mandate the removal of the criminal history question on employment applications. The time may be now for a successful passage of the Workforce Justice Act, and hiring managers should take immediate note, ensure their hiring policies are current, and work with a well-qualified third-party pre-employment background screening agency to remain compliant with laws governing hiring.
Ban-the-Box legislation has grown since the first bill emerged from Hawaii over 20 years ago. During the corresponding years many states and local municipalities have enacted similar laws requiring an elimination of the criminal past question on employment applications.
From HRDive.com on March 3, 2021:
There’s a growing push in the U.S. to remove the barriers standing in the way of job seekers with criminal histories.
States and cities have adopted ban-the-box legislation, which prohibits employers from requiring applicants to indicate whether they have a criminal history record. hrdive.com/news/2nd-cir-wont-reconsider-whether-criminal-history-hiring-ban-disparately-i/596058/
In early March of this year Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) and David Trone (D-MD) introduced the Work Justice Act into Congress.
From a press release from the Office of David Trone, on March 3, 2021:
Ahead of the House of Representatives’ historic vote on the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, Congressman David Trone (MD-06) and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) introduced the Workforce Justice Act, which would encourage states to ‘ban the box’ on employment applications nationwide and give justice-impacted individuals a greater chance of gaining employment. trone.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-trone-waters-introduce-historic-legislation-ban-box-employment
Changing how the question of criminal history and related criminal history reports can be used in the hiring process will be a significant move. For companies large and small this may cause considerable concern. However, at some point after the initial employment application is filled out employers can pull criminal history reports on potential hires depending on how the ban-the-box legislation works in their jurisdiction, sometimes only after an initial offer is made can a criminal report be pulled.
From BlackEnterprises.com on March 5, 2021:
“This legislation to ban the box would take critical steps forward to ensure that the over 70 million Americans who have an arrest or conviction record are not left behind. By prohibiting private employers from asking about the criminal history of a job applicant prior to the extension of a conditional offer of employment … job applicants with a criminal history will be evaluated based on
their qualifications alone and have a fair shot at rebuilding and reclaiming their lives.” blackenterprise.com/maxine-waters-introduces-bill-ending-bias-against-job-applicants-with-criminal-records/
In light of this potentially historic legislation a best practice remains for companies and organizations to work with a well-qualified employment screening agency in order to stay ahead of emerging trends and law.
To read more about the newly introduced Workforce Justice Act in Congress and why this could become the first national Ban-the-Box law read recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release: Growing Push for National Ban-the-Box Law Should Alert Hiring Managers