4 ms·

This is not a new idea, it goes by the name "Ban the Box" ("the box" here meaning the "I have been convicted of a felony" checkbox on a job application) and has

This is not a new idea, it goes by the name "Ban the Box" ("the box" here meaning the "I have been convicted of a felony" checkbox on a job application) and has been implemented in a bunch of US states. The general consensus is that it doesn't really move the needle on employment rates for felons, while at the same time making employment prospects worse for black men because employers now just discard them from the application pipeline entirely since they can't check criminal records.

LorenPechtel 5y ago
What I would like to see: Utterly ban "have you been arrested". The highest offense I have been convicted of is: xxxxxx In special cases I would permit highest offense in certain categories.
gruez 5y ago
I'm not sure why this is being downvoted, because everything said is pretty much valid or at least substantiated. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/which-jobs-will-come-back-and-when-ep-420/ https://freakonomics.com/podcast/which-jobs-will-come-back-a... >DOLEAC: So, we found that, on average, across the U.S., in places that ban the box, employment fell by 5 percent for young black men who didn’t have a college degree and by 3 percent for young Hispanic men who didn’t have a college degree. And so the next question is, who are they hiring instead? And we found, on average, the people who benefited were older men of color. So if you’re trying to avoid people who are actively involved in crime, older people are a pretty good bet. Criminal activity tends to decline with age. >DUBNER: And what about young under-educated white potential employees? >DOLEAC: For young white men who had the same level of education, we saw employment increase for that group. What seemed to be happening was that employers were substituting from young men of color to young white men.
polski-g 5y ago
If employers can't discriminate on the individual level, they will discriminate on the group level.
- earspider 5y ago

LorenPechtel 5y ago

What I would like to see: Utterly ban "have you been arrested". The highest offense I have been convicted of is: xxxxxx In special cases I would permit highest offense in certain categories.

gruez 5y ago

I'm not sure why this is being downvoted, because everything said is pretty much valid or at least substantiated. https://freakonomics.com/podcast/which-jobs-will-come-back-and-when-ep-420/ https://freakonomics.com/podcast/which-jobs-will-come-back-a... >DOLEAC: So, we found that, on average, across the U.S., in places that ban the box, employment fell by 5 percent for young black men who didn’t have a college degree and by 3 percent for young Hispanic men who didn’t have a college degree. And so the next question is, who are they hiring instead? And we found, on average, the people who benefited were older men of color. So if you’re trying to avoid people who are actively involved in crime, older people are a pretty good bet. Criminal activity tends to decline with age. >DUBNER: And what about young under-educated white potential employees? >DOLEAC: For young white men who had the same level of education, we saw employment increase for that group. What seemed to be happening was that employers were substituting from young men of color to young white men.

polski-g 5y ago

If employers can't discriminate on the individual level, they will discriminate on the group level.

earspider 5y ago