Do you have a Crinminal Record?....employers can no longer ask this question to job applications in certain states, counties and cities.

There is a movement nationwide to "Ban the Box" or remove the question about someone's conviction history from job applications.  Applicants for a job should not have to answer questions about criminal conviction until later in the hiring process if necessary.  Applicants should also be given the opportunity to review background check results.

The aim is to give a fair chance to everyone who is competing for jobs. 

If employers are allowed to judge applicants on their qualifications first without the stigma of a criminal record they're more likely to hire people who have a hard time finding a job after a criminal conviction.

According to the National Employment Law Project (NELP) there are currently nine states, the District of Columbia, and 29 cities and counties now extend the fair-chance policy to government contractors or private employers and over 150 cities and counties that have taken steps to remove barriers to employment for qualified workers with records.

You can follow this issue at the NELP website and visit this webpage to see a list of each state, county and city that have enacted law as to "Ban the Box".

Visit the EEOC webpage that provides guidance on the use of criminal records.

According to the EEOC an employer's use of an individual's criminal history in making employment decisions may, in some instances, violate the prohibition against employment discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended.

The fact of an arrest does not establish that criminal conduct has occurred, and an exclusion based on an arrest, in itself, is not job related and consistent with business necessity. However, an employer may make an employment decision based on the conduct underlying an arrest if the conduct makes the individual unfit for the position in question.

In contrast, a conviction record will usually serve as sufficient evidence that a person engaged in particular conduct. In certain circumstances, however, there may be reasons for an employer not to rely on the conviction record alone when making an employment decision.

A violation may occur when an employer treats criminal history information differently for different applicants or employees, based on their race or national origin (disparate treatment liability).

An employer's neutral policy (e.g., excluding applicants from employment based on certain criminal conduct) may disproportionately impact some individuals protected under Title VII, and may violate the law if not job related and consistent with business necessity (disparate impact liability).