A January 2015 report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) indicates that “almost one in three adults in the United States has a criminal record that will show up on a routine criminal background check. This creates a serious barrier to employment for millions of workers, especially in communities of color hardest hit by decades of over-criminalization.”
Reflecting the growing political consensus behind “smart on crime” reforms, elected officials from across the ideological spectrum have embraced “fair chance” hiring policies. More than 100 jurisdictions, including 13 states, the District of Columbia, and 96 cities and counties, have adopted “ban the box” and other fair chance hiring reforms.
NELP makes the case for federal reforms to promote successful reentry, including encouraging hiring practices, such as “Ban the Box,” which give applicants a fair chance and allows employers the opportunity to judge individual job candidates on their merits as they reenter the workforce.
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W. Barry Nixon is the COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and Suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine.
In addition, Barry is a past recipient of the elite ‘Top 25 Influential People in Security’ by Security Magazine and past Co-Chair, International Committee for the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). He currently serves as a Global Ambassador for NAPBS.
You can contact Barry at 1-949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@preemploymentdirectory.com