“Ban-The-Box” Laws Becoming The Norm

State and local laws prohibiting or severely restricting inquiries about criminal history on an employment application – so-called ban-the-box laws – have gone from a trend to being the norm. In most cases they apply only to public employees, but now there are state private employment versions of the law in Hawaii, Massachusetts and most recently in Minnesota and Rhode Island. There are local versions of the laws in numerous other jurisdictions, as well. Details vary but all versions either prohibit or severely restrict inquiries in an early phase of the application process.