What is Ban the Box Legislation?
I am applying for jobs and the job application asks if I have been arrested.
Answer
Ban the Box Legislation refers to laws that require employers to not automatically dismiss a job applicant with arrests and criminal convictions. The employer must first consider an job applicant's qualifications for a position. This includes people who have been arrested as a youthful offender, or who have a sealed conviction record or an arrest that was ultimately dismissed. Here are some good resources to learn more about legal protections for people with criminal records:
- Protections Under the Law for People with Arrest and Conviction Records: pamphlet from the NY State Division of Human Rights
- A Worker's Guide to Criminal History Protections Under the New York City Human Rights Law: pamphlet from the NYC Commission on Human Rights
- NYC legal services agencies that work with people with criminal histories
There are laws at both the state, county, and city level addressing ban the box:
- Executive Law, section 296
- New York Corrections Law, Article 23-A
- Buffalo Municipal Code, Chapter 154, Article 5
- Rochester Ban the Box ordinance
- Suffolk County Ban the Box ordinance
- Westchester County Ban the Box ordinance
You can also do more in depth research at your local public access law library:
- Westlaw: § 6:12. Restrictions upon use of or obtaining criminal history record, 13A N.Y. Prac, Employment Law in New York § 6:12 (2d ed.)
- Lexis: 2 New York Employment Law § 24.12 (2nd 2021) Discrimination Based on Arrests or Conviction