Ban the Box

Laws that prohibit employers from asking about criminal history on job applications.

'Ban the box' refers to laws and policies that remove the checkbox asking about criminal history from job applications — requiring employers to delay criminal background inquiries until later in the hiring process (typically after an initial interview or conditional offer). The 'box' is the checkbox that once appeared on job applications: 'Have you ever been convicted of a felony?' The goal is to give people with criminal records a fair opportunity to be evaluated on their qualifications before being screened out automatically at the application stage.

As of 2024, more than 35 states and 150 cities and counties have adopted some form of ban-the-box law. Coverage varies: some laws apply only to public employers (government jobs), while others cover private employers above a certain size threshold. The federal government adopted ban-the-box for federal employment under the Fair Chance Act of 2019. Some jurisdictions go further — requiring employers to conduct an individualized assessment before rejecting a candidate based on criminal history, weighing factors like the nature and severity of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and its relevance to the job.

For job seekers with criminal records, understanding local ban-the-box laws matters for knowing your rights. If an employer asks about criminal history before a conditional offer in a jurisdiction where this is prohibited, you can decline to answer and cite the applicable law. Even in jurisdictions without ban-the-box laws, you are typically not required to disclose convictions that were expunged, arrests that didn't result in conviction, or offenses where you completed your sentence and the statutory disclosure period has passed. Consulting an employment or legal aid attorney before applying to roles that require background checks is worth the investment.

What Ban-the-Box Laws Typically Require

  • Remove criminal history questions from job applications.
  • Delay criminal background inquiries until after a conditional job offer is made.
  • In some jurisdictions: require an individualized assessment before rescinding a conditional offer based on criminal history.
  • In some jurisdictions: require the employer to notify the applicant of the disqualifying conviction and give them a chance to respond.
  • Does NOT prohibit background checks entirely — it just changes WHEN they happen in the process.
  • Federal contractors must also comply with the federal Fair Chance Act for positions not involving national security or law enforcement.

What Employers Can Still Do

Ban-the-box laws restrict when employers can ask about criminal history, not whether they can consider it at all. After a conditional offer, employers can still conduct background checks and withdraw offers based on relevant convictions. The key is 'relevant' — courts and regulators increasingly scrutinize rejections where the conviction bears no reasonable relationship to the job's duties. Rejecting a cashier candidate for a 15-year-old non-violent felony conviction is harder to justify than rejecting a financial services candidate for a recent fraud conviction. Many employers are developing written policies on how they evaluate criminal history to create consistency and reduce legal exposure.

Example

A warehouse logistics company in Seattle posts a warehouse associate job opening. Because Seattle has a ban-the-box ordinance that applies to private employers with 8+ employees, the application has no criminal history question. After screening resumes and conducting interviews, the company makes a conditional offer to a candidate. Only then does it run a background check, which reveals a 7-year-old assault conviction. Under Seattle's ordinance, the company must provide written notice, give the candidate at least two business days to respond, and conduct an individualized assessment of the conviction's relevance to a warehouse job. The company ultimately moves forward with the hire after determining the offense is unrelated to the role's responsibilities.