Another FL Community Looks to "Ban The Box" on Job Applications
Posted June 8, 2016 07:05 am | Public News Service
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL – The difficult task of finding a job is all the more challenging for those who have interacted with the criminal-justice system, which is why people in one Florida community hope to "Ban the Box" on job applications.
Columbia County, FL, also wants to
know if one has been a defendant in a civil action.
"The box" is what applicants check if they've been arrested or convicted of a crime, and tonight at a forum in Broward County, community members will urge the county to eliminate the box from its job applications.
Marcus Dixon, political director for the Florida state council of the Service Employees International Union, said that box prevents many people from even considering applying for jobs, and affects the way employers view applicants as well.
"No matter how objective we are trying to be," he said,
"what we know and what we see is that that information
presents some kind of bias, and kind of stains that
person moving forward."
While those in favor of keeping the box believe it's
important for employers to know a person's criminal
history up front, Dixon said the move doesn't eliminate
criminal background checks but allows applicants to
first be judged on their qualifications. Because the
criminal-justice system is so complex, he said, there
are many cases where people plead guilty in court
without fully comprehending the consequences.
"All they know is that they want to go home, so --
'Whatever gets me out of here, I'll plead whatever I
need to do if I get to walk out and go be with my
family.' What they're not understanding," Dixon said,
"is how that decision is going to affect them for the
rest of their lives."
Research shows that questions about criminal history on
job applications disproportionately affect people of
color, as nearly half of black men in the United States
have been arrested by age 23. To date, dozens of cities
and counties, including Miami-Dade County, and 23 states
have passed similar ban-the-box laws.
The forum will begin at 7 p.m. at Lauderhill Mall in
Lauderhill. The Broward County Commission is expected to
vote on the issue next week.
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