Ban the Box laws prohibit employers from asking about the criminal histories of job applicants on initial job applications, and, sometimes, in interviews or before conditional job offers. Some laws, such as California's, also require employers to analyze whether a criminal history justifies denying someone a job. Hawaii first passed a ban the box law in 1998, and, as of Nov. 5, 2019, at least 35 states and DC and more than 150 cities have some sort of ban the box policy.

According to the National Employment Law Project, banning the box creates a fair chance for people with convictions to compete for jobs. Opponents state that ban the box legislation can lead to fewer jobs for people of color as employers more widely discriminate against groups more likely to have criminal records

Sources: Margaret Barthel, "Employers Are Still Avoiding Former Inmates," theatlantic.com, Nov. 5, 2019
Michelle Natividad Rodriguez, "'Ban the Box' Is a Fair Chance for Workers with Records," nelp.org, Aug. 1, 2017
Alana Semuels, "When Banning One Kind of Discrimination Results in Another," theatlantic.com, Aug. 4, 2016