Ban The Box Provision Essay

In the year 2010, Massachusetts passed a new law regarding Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Reform. One of the provisions within this law is the “ban the box” provision. This particular part of the law bans both state and private employers from inquiring about criminal history on an initial job application, unless conviction information is mandatory for certain employers under state or federal law (Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination [MCDAD], 2010). This provision is a result of over 100 different community organizations and labor unions pushing for legislators to create policies that provide people with criminal records a fair chance in job application pools. The idea behind the “ban the box” provision is that the removal of conviction history from the initial application will help people with criminal records not feel discouraged when applying to jobs and it will also prevent employers from disqualifying suited applicants because of a checked criminal history box. Ex-offenders face multiple barriers when seeking employment. Research has indicated that a …show more content…
With that being said, the provision has not yet had the intended impact for which advocates had hoped. It seems to have shifted the rejection of an applicant with a criminal record to the interview phase rather than the application phase of the process. I think this policy could benefit from some changes that would help applicants with a record secure employment opportunities. One recommendation could be to make stricter rules regarding who can access a person’s CORI. An employer should only be able to access a CORI based on the applicability it has to the job. Another recommendation would be to further increase tax incentives for employers to hire individuals with a criminal