Question

Research the current history of "ban the box" including the purpose of these laws; what states they currently are active, and what are the pros/cons of both sides of the issue.

Answer 1

Ban the Box is an international campaign. It was led by civil rights groups and advocates of ex-offenders. The aim of this campaign is to persuade employers to remove check boxes from their hiring applications that would check their criminal records. It stands on the premises that anything that would make it harder for ex-offenders to get a job, it would make them more likelier to re-offend the society.

They are currently active in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The pros are:

1) It promotes a Fair Chance Business Pledge

2) It helps in meaningfully integrating incarcerated individuals back into their communities.

The cons are:

1) Research has shown that some hiring managers have begun racial profiling as a result of this.

2) It has increased the ingrained biases in the society at some levels.