President Trump in December 2019 signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020 which includes an interesting law named “Ban the Box.” Also, Ban the Box is called the Fair Chance Act. The FCA will take effect two years after the date of enactment. This bill will give ex-offenders a better chance to find work in the U.S. federal government. The Ban the Box prohibits the asking about the criminal history of job applicants early on in the hiring process. This is essential because one’s past does not define them as the person they are today.

Ban the Box does not allow employers to ask about criminal history. This promotes employers to remove the question from application forms. Former convicts will be able to have a job after serving their time. However, employers will ask about criminal history during a face-to-face interview. Ban the Box improves the lives of people with criminal records. Those who hold a criminal record are often denied the same opportunities and turned away from employment. After serving their time in prison, citizens who search and gain employment are more than 1/3 less likely than their counterparts to return to crime. They are capable of forming lives and straying away from other crimes. 

Everyone is nervous when applying for a job, having a criminal history or not, no one knows the outcome. Employers could become biased and judge individuals on their characteristics. The fact of the matter is, women are as good as men, those who have disabilities should not hold employers back from hiring them, and most importantly, race has no impact on a person’s ability to perform a job. 

Ban the Box has not passed on the federal level, this specific law is being passed by states and cities. There are 13 states that (and the District of Columbia) have ban-the-box laws. The states include: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. What would happen if more states pass this law? Would the federal government decide to pass Ban the Box as a bill?