The Oregon Legislature had a public hearing on a ‘ban the box’ bill recently. At the hearing, interested parties from around the state had an opportunity to provide their opinions to legislators about whether employers should be mandated to remove any criminal history questions from their applications.
‘Ban the box’ advocates argue that people with a criminal history are unfairly judged on that history before ever given a chance to interview for a job. In the eyes of these advocates, this is a major obstacle for people with a criminal history from finding employment.
The bill, HB 3025, has received broad support from various constituencies and popular support from the public and is part of a general push nationally to pass this type of legislation. According to advocates, more than 45 cities and counties have removed the criminal history question from employment applications.
All employers should keep up to date on legislation that affects them and their hiring practices. It’s a good idea for employers to periodically review all hiring policies and procedures to ensure they are compliant with all federal, state, and local laws. Some employers have proactively removed the criminal history question form applications in an effort to avoid any complications.
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Read a story on the Oregon ‘ban the box’ legislation.
‘Ban the Box’ supporters take national campaign to Oregon Legislature