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The purpose of this paper is to assess the public policy benefits of ban-the-box laws, the administrative burden for employers created by disparate approaches to these laws among various states and cities and the value of adopting a federal ban-the-box law with a preemptive effect.

The paper uses a descriptive research method that examines statistical data regarding the recidivism and sustained employment and examples of states’ laws regarding restrictions or requirements of when criminal history inquiries can be made during the hiring process, notice requirements related to use of criminal history information and limitations on employment decisions based on criminal history information.

The paper finds that, given the public policy interests at stake and the relationship observed between recidivism and sustained employment, it is difficult to argue that states and local ban-the-box requirements are not rational and well-intentioned. However, a federal ban-the-box law with preemptive effect is likely the only viable solution for employers overburdened by this disparate approach to ban-the-box.

This paper provides an examination of why a federal ban-the-box law with preemptive effect is an attractive alternative to the current disparate approach to regulating criminal history inquiries by different states and local governments.

The purpose of this paper is to identify factors that affect how managers assess the importance of criminal history for job seekers with criminal records in Ban the Box states.

This study uses a phenomenological investigative approach to examine narrative interview data obtained from 18 human resource (HR) professionals in organizations in five Ban the Box states.

Contrary to previous research, the findings presented in this paper show that managers are inclined to hire applicants with a criminal history. However, study findings indicate that those hiring decisions are positively influenced by: perceived value of criminal history; concerns about safety and cost; characteristics of the offense; motivation to hire; and evidence of applicant growth. Furthermore, a lack of systematic evaluation processes among hiring managers may present a barrier to employment.

This paper explores a poorly understood area of the HR management and employment inclusion literatures – the identification of factors that influence evaluations of applicants with a criminal history.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

The present study was designed to test whether the Ban the Box strategy of delaying knowledge of offences proved effective in helping ex-offenders to get hired and what factors helped managers make decisions. The researchers concluded there were five principal factors that influenced decisions. The first was “how the managers on Ban the Box schemes perceived the value of the criminal history.” The second important factor was “concerns about safety and cost.” The third factor was the “characteristics of the offence.” The fourth factor was the HR manager’s “motivation to hire”. The final important factor was “evidence of applicant growth.”

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

This case was developed from both secondary and primary sources. The secondary sources include journal and newspaper articles. Primary sources include court proceedings, industry reports and EEOC recommendations regarding disparate impact for major retailers. This case has been classroom tested with undergraduate BBA students in an introductory undergraduate Human Resources course.

In August 2019, Ms Ramos applied for an entry-level position at Stockworld; however, despite receiving an initial offer, Ms Ramos was notified soon after beginning the position that her job offer was being rescinded as a result of a completed background check. The Fair Chances Act for employment has challenged employers to “Ban the Box” that asks about criminal past acts before conditional employment offers. With increased demand for qualified applicants following and amid current labor shortages, proponents of “Ban the Box” challenge that including background checks before and even following conditional offers lead to disparate impact with Title VII protected classifications of employees. Can employers Ban the Box to prevent Disparate Impact for entry-level positions? What are the implications for eliminating criminal background checks?

This case was written for use in an undergraduate introductory human resource management course or general business law course. The focus of the case supports classroom discussion for online and face-to-face instruction regarding equal employment opportunity and employment decisions. The case also has strong application in course content regarding discrimination and strategic plans for organizational success. Educators who use critical thinking methods to apply hiring strategies or talent pipeline assessment can use this case to explore additional avenues for external recruitment and talent development.

Purpose: This chapter applies and integrates theories of status and stigma to better understand the mechanisms that drive the combined effects of the status of race and the stigma of criminal record in the context of the labor market. Using these social psychological theories of status and stigma, I propose and test two potential mechanisms – moral expectations and performance expectations – that might explain the compound or “double disadvantage” observed among Black job seekers with a criminal record. Within this synthetic application, I also seek to bridge and extend the literatures on status and stigma processes.

Methodology/Approach: To examine the relationship between race and criminal record and the potential mediating role of moral and performance expectations, I use a laboratory experiment consisting of a hiring scenario where participants evaluate mock, but ostensibly real job applicants who vary on the characteristics of interest. Participant evaluations consist of rankings along a series moral and performance-related scales as well as a set of workplace outcomes.

Findings: Findings suggest that race and criminal record aggregate to intensify disadvantage, with Black applicants who have a criminal record faring worse than other applicants on each workplace outcome. Results also support moral expectations, but not performance expectations, as a key mechanism driving this status-stigma intensification process.

Implications: This study has important implications for studies of race, crime, and employment as well as for theories of status and stigma. Future research should attend more closely to the role of perceived morality both in substantive work on race and criminal record and in bridging work on status and stigma processes. Pinpointing moral expectations as a mechanism of bias related to race and criminal record also opens new avenues for targeted intervention efforts.

Barriers to employment are a significant issue in the United States and abroad. As civil rights legislation continues to be enforced and as employers seek to diversify their workplaces, it is incumbent upon the management field to offer insights that address obstacles to work. Although barriers to employment have been addressed in various fields such as psychology and economics, management scholars have addressed this issue in a piecemeal fashion. As such, our review will offer a comprehensive, integrative model of barriers to employment that addresses both individual and organizational perspectives. We will also address societal-level concerns involving these barriers. An integrative perspective is necessary for research to progress in this area because many individuals with barriers to employment face multiple challenges that prevent them from obtaining and maintaining full employment. While the additive, or possibly multiplicative, effect of employment barriers have been acknowledged in related fields like rehabilitation counseling and vocational psychology, the Human Resource Management (HRM) literature has virtually ignored this issue. We discuss suggestions for the reduction or elimination of barriers to employment. We also provide an integrative model of employment barriers that addresses the mutable (amenable to change) nature of some barriers, while acknowledging the less mutable nature of others.

Criminal history has been conceptualised as a socially stigmatised identity. From this perspective, we can understand criminal history as invisible, concealable and ‘not readily apparent to others’ (Chaudoir & Fisher, 2010, p. 236). Although previous periods of incarceration cannot be detected per se, during this chapter, we present several elements, such as embodiment, appearance-based inferences (i.e. assumptions of what a criminal history looks like), and information as proxy (e.g. résumé gaps, credit history), which may contribute to individual assessments and interpretations of the appearance of a criminal history. Once perceived, these elements may contribute an array of unique career experiences as individuals with a criminal history seek to navigate their employment experience. Therefore, this chapter offers insight into how the appearance of criminal history information, particularly when presented without a thorough explanation, may be left to interpretation and bias throughout the employment experience.