St. Louis has become the latest city to enact a ban-the-box ordinance in an effort to advocate for the rights of ex-offenders.
The ordinance prevents the city of St. Louis employers from asking about criminal history on job applications or posting job ads that exclude applicants with a criminal record in the first place. They can no longer ask about or investigate a potential employee’s criminal history until after someone has been interviewed. So while they can still eventually discover past criminal information, they can’t begin their employee search by automatically disqualifying applicants who have criminal records. It essentially delays the criminal background check—They have to ask for this information towards the end of the hiring process when they’ve taken into account other factors besides criminal history.
So, while St. Louis employers can ultimately base hiring decisions on criminal history information, they can only do so when they can prove their decision is “based on all information available including the frequency, recentness and severity of the criminal history and the history is reasonably related to or bears upon the duties and responsibilities of the job position.”
Ordinances like these are productive on an individual level, but can also slowly begin to shift society’s views and reduce the stigma around a criminal record. If employers truly get to know an applicant and focus on their skills first, more opportunities are given to people who truly need a second chance.
The ordinance does not apply to certain federal and state positions where prior laws would prevent someone with a criminal record from being hired. It will take effect on January 1st, 2021.
