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2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION SITE
Last updated on: 6/10/2020 7:50:05 AM PST

Should Federal or State Governments Implement Ban the Box Legislation, which Prevents Employers from Asking about a Job Applicants' Criminal History?

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
Pro
Joe Biden
Biden
Howie Hawkins
Hawkins
Donald Trump
Trump

Con
Not Clear or Not Found
Jo Jorgensen
Jorgensen





Pro (Yes)

Pro
Joe Biden
Biden
Democrat

"[T]he Biden Administration will expand on the Obama-Biden Administration’s 'ban the box' policy by encouraging further adoption of these policies at the state and local level. This effort will not include any automatic restoration of firearms rights."

Source: Joe Biden, "Justice," joebiden.com (accessed June 1, 2020)
Pro
Howie Hawkins
Hawkins
Green

"Ban the Box: End the practice of employers and public colleges such as SUNY using criminal history on initial applications, which automatically disqualifies applicants who are fully qualified. The right to know an applicant's criminal history would be deferred until a conditional offer of employment or enrollment is made."

Source: Howie Hawkins, "Issues: Criminal Justice Reform," howiehawkins.org, June 16, 2020
Pro
Donald Trump
Trump
Republican



Source:
[Editor's Note:On Dec. 20, 2019, Trump signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FIscal Year 2020. The law includes the Fair Chance Act, which will take effect on Dec. 20, 2021 and will prohibit the federal government and contractors from inquiring about a job applicant's criminal history prior to conditional job offers for most jobs.
Sources:
House of Representatives, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, docs.house.gov, Dec. 2019
Donald Trump, "Statement by the President," whitehouse.gov, Dec. 20, 2019]
Con (No)



Not Clearly Pro or Con
Jo Jorgensen
Jorgensen
Libertarian

"Employers should be free to ask potential employees, but I support the release of nonviolent criminals where there was no victim and efforts to expunge their criminal records that prevent so many from seeking employment."

Source: Communication from the Jorgensen campaign to ProCon.org on Aug. 26, 2020

[Editor's Note: The Jorgensen campaign self-categorized as con. However, the answer states that employers should be free to ask about a job applicant's criminal history, which would be a pro answer. ProCon.org has categorized the answer as not clearly pro or con.]




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