As more cities and states join the movement to remove the box requiring people to disclose if they have any criminal convictions on their job application, Washington D.C. has hit the milestone of one year of the law “banning the box” being in effect.
There were over one hundred other complaints that were not followed through on, but currently there are 365 complaints that have either been decided upon or are in negotiations. This is because the public was made aware of the change in the law, and they were encouraged to report violations. The Office of Human Rights (OHR) spokesman stated that this is because the law is well-written, and comes with hefty fines for non-compliance. A case study revealed the D.C. has seen some of the highest number of complaints nationally.
Not to be confused with the background check that happens post job offer, the importance of “banning the box” is that it allows employers the opportunity to meet and interview the applicant before learning of any potential past criminal record history. This has become such a popular topic and point of discussion that President Obama even signed to have this box removed from Federal employment applications.
Please feel free to contact us at Advanced Reporting with any questions you may have and to see if we can help streamline your background screening process.
For the source article and link to the case study, please go to http://dcist.com/2016/02/nearly_500_people_filed_ban_the_box.php