EmployeeScreenIQ Blog

Washtenaw County, Michigan just announced plans to “Ban the Box” on all county job applications.  We’ve shared our prevailing thoughts such efforts to “Ban the Box” (legislation to remove the check box on a job application that asks if the applicant has been convicted of a crime) and this announcement really hasn’t changed our opinion.  Primarily, we really don’t have a strong opinion one way or the other.  Why?  Because even if you don’t ask the question on the application, you can still conduct an employment background check and determine if the person has a criminal record.  I guess we would have to say we like this measure, because we probably conduct more background checks as a result of candidates not being initially rejected.  On the employer side, they are probably spending more money on background checks and recruiting than they ordinarily would.

But here’s another thought that might just be swaying me back to thinking this is a bad idea.  By banning the box, you are eliminating the chance that an applicant will tell you about a conviction you might not have found in a normal background check.  For instance, what if the applicant lived in Washtenaw County all of his life and never committed a crime there, but was convicted of crime (serious or not) elsewhere?  A comprehensive check consists of conducting a criminal background check in each county where an individual has resided under each name they have been known by.  For additional coverage, a National Criminal Record Database Search can be performed.  Well, if that record sits in a jurisdiction that isn’t searched and isn’t included on the database, the employer would never know.

So going back to Washtenaw County, they might not care if the record they miss was a petty conviction, however they might feel differently if the record they missed was any number of serious misdemeanors or felonies.