Implement Fair Chance Hiring Policies

A broad menu of reforms, which some localities have deemed “fair-chance” laws, incorporate “ban the box” policies, which delay inquiry into a criminal record, and build off the best practices detailed in the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidelines on the use of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions. EEOC recommendations that have been incorporated into some fair-chance laws include prohibiting certain criminal record information from consideration in hiring decisions, such as arrests that did not lead to convictions; considering only specific job-related convictions in hiring; and providing job applicants an opportunity to explain their criminal record. As of August 2017, 29 states and more than 150 cities and counties had adopted fair chance hiring policies.

To learn more about these policies, visit The National Employment Law Project’s toolkit, "Ban the Box: U.S. Cities, Counties, and States Adopt Fair Hiring Policies". View Fact Sheet [PDF] The Consideration of Criminal Records in Hiring Decisions