Called the "Ban the Box" movement, Koch Industries is the latest large U.S. corporation (employing more than 60,000 people in the United States alone) to drop its application question about prior criminal convictions. Koch's general counsel and senior vice president said that the reasoning behind the company's decision was simple, "Do we want to be judged for the rest of our lives for something that happened on our worst day?" 46 Once the question is banned, applicants are judged solely by their education and experience. The question about convictions comes up only during interviews when the applicants would have the opportunity to explain their past history. Proponents believe that this open process gives ex-felons a better chance at being hired because they are not rejected automatically from the hiring pool. See the National Employment Law Project website for more information.

Target and Walmart are two other major companies that have adopted the "Ban the Box" policy internationally.

The EEOC position does not require employers to "ban the box." The EEOC has given the following guidance: Employers cannot discriminate against people with equal criminal backgrounds on the basis of race, gender, national origin, or religion. \({ }^{47}\) In addition, employers cannot use employment screens that disproportionately impact by race, gender, national origin, or religion. In other words, the statistical impact issue could arise because of these employer screens. Also, the EEOC makes a distinction between arrest and conviction records because arrest records are not proof that the individual committed a crime and the agency suggests caution in using such screens.

There are also 16 states that have what are called "fair chance" hiring policies. In these states, government agencies have banned the box (California, New Mexico, Denver, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois, Georgia, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and the District of Columbia). Another 16 states have at least one county or city (for a total of 100) with a fair chance policy. In six of those fair chance states, the fair chance policies also apply to private employers.

There are 70 million people in the United States who have some type of criminal record. The number of individuals returned each year to society following their incarceration is 700,000 . Men with criminal records account for \(34 \%\) of all unemployed males between the ages of 25 and 54..............

 Discussion Questions
1. Explain the distinction in the hiring process when the "box" is eliminated.
2. Discuss the risks employers face in hiring those who have convictions and the precautions they can take.