Ban the Box is a campaign that has successfully advocated for employers to remove the check box that asks if you have a criminal history, from job applications in 13 states.
The idea is that, if it is hard for people with a criminal history to get a job, they are more likely to reoffend, and by not making people declare their convictions on applications, they have a chance to show their skills and value without the stigma, and are more likely to get a job.
Over the last 7 months, I have applied for over 100 state jobs (and at least that many private sector jobs), interviewed for at least half of those, had second and third Interviews for 33, and was officially offered and I accepted, a number of different positions with the state of Oregon, and local city government.
The interview process is extensive but I had already been hired by the state in November. I lost my job because the background check form that I was given 3 days into my job, had a small box to write and explain convictions. It also said that if I needed more space, or would rather just declare my convictions directly, I could call “Jenn” at a specific number, and speak with her about it. I called that number, and I left an extensive message explaining that I had been convicted of 2 felonies almost 19 years ago. I explained that I was under the impression that I didn't need to declare the conviction because it had been 18 years. I explained that I had completed my obligations to the court, I participated in thousands of hours of therapy, I had no significant brushes with the law in the meantime, and had employers who hired me knowing about my past, and ended up having significant trust in me.
I left my name, employee number, department and phone number. I never heard back. Then, 3 weeks later and 2 days before Thanksgiving; I was fired.
They said that I hadn't been honest and showed me the blank form. I pointed to the section where it gave the option to just call and declare, and the phone number to do that. I showed them how I made a call to that number the day I signed the background check form, and explained that I hadn't intended to omit anything, I just thought I had the option to call.
My supervisor and the HR person seemed stunned by what I pointed out, and acted as if they hadn't realized that option was there. The HR person said that it didn't matter because my conviction was too serious for me to handle “sensitive information”. Even though I had been a model employee up until that point, and even though I was hired with another employee who had more recent felonies (drug trafficking); I was being fired. But they felt bad, so they heavily encouraged me to apply for other positions in the state, where personal information isn't something I would need to access. They specifically mentioned Dept of Ag, Dept of Forestry, and ODOT. The director of DCBS himself, set me up with the HR director, to help guide me and get me a new position. They repeatedly encouraged me to keep trying. Then, after about a month, I stopped hearing from them.
Despite that, I was given fantastic references, and within a month, I was hired again, but with a different department. Again, I was honest about my crimes, and again, I was given a written offer that I accepted, as well as a start date. That's when they would do the fingerprinting, and my start dates would be moved back for weeks at a time, until eventually they rescinded my offer.
I won't go into the details of every single one but the outcome is the same in every situation. From first interview to finally getting offers rescinded was an average of 3 months. On every single official offer, I had to wait at least a month from the moment I accepted, to the moment they rescinded. And every single time, I would have to turn down offers while waiting because I had already accepted one.
Here's the problem as I see it:
Ban the box doesn't keep employers from discriminating and it doesn't give convicts any more of a chance than they had without it. It hurts far more than it helps. It is detrimental because it is costing us months, while employers have to take applicants through the entire process before they find out about their record. Months while thinking we have a job, so we turn down others.
My convictions were nonviolent and non drug related crimes. I wasn't sentenced to prison, and I completed the classes I was ordered to. I have thousands of hours volunteering, and just as many in therapy, by choice. I'm not proud of what I did. I don't justify it. What I did was wrong.
But…was it so bad that even 20 years later, it still outweighs anything I've done in the meantime, to make up for it? Does it mean that I never get another chance to work and support my family? Does it mean that by default, I'm sentenced to homelessness? Does it mean that the skills they find valuable enough to offer me a job, no longer have any value, at all?
It's been 8 months since I was fired from the state job I had. I have less than a month to find a place to live, apply, and move. I can't even apply without having a job to prove I can pay the rent. I've never tried harder for something in my life, and still achieved so little.
If ban the box didn't exist, it would have saved me valuable time. If it didn't exist, neither myself or the state would have wasted time, resources and energy on a pointless effort. If it didn't exist, I wouldn't have wasted months thinking I had a job, while holding a 90 day eviction notice in my hand.
Just tell us up front that we have no chance, so that we stop trying for jobs we will never get, and we don't waste valuable time.
PS- The background check unit uses police reports, not ONLY findings of fact. So, when the initial police report was filed and I was also accused of other things that were eventually dropped; because I didn't take responsibility for those things that were in the police report but I wasn't convicted of- they decided that I wasn't owning my actions.
Collateral punishment.