Jackson: Ban the box to help turn ex-cons into contributing members of society

Former President Ronald Reagan popularized the sentiment behind an oft-quoted line, “The best social program we can have is a job.”

Others have extolled the virtues of work throughout history, and in this country, work — especially hard work — is central to our concept of the American Dream.

But those formerly incarcerated, who have served their debt to society, are often locked out of opportunities to achieve success and prosperity through gainful employment. They are stymied in their job searches by applications with checkboxes seeking information about criminal histories.

Research shows those with a criminal history are nearly 50 percent less likely to receive a callback or job offer.

So far, 19 states have prohibited state government and, in some states, the private sector from including the criminal-history checkboxes on employment applications.

The ban-the-box concept is not coddling hardened criminals. It is allowing those with marketable skills and talents to overcome the mistakes of their past and move one step forward to becoming productive members of society.

President Barack Obama recently announced a policy to delay inquiries into federal job applicants’ criminal histories until later in the hiring process.

Ban-the-box legislation and policies have bipartisan support and are being endorsed by major employers. Companies such as Koch Industries, Target, Walmart and Home Depot have embraced this concept and see the benefit in delaying questions about criminal histories.

I hope to put a similar fair-chance policy in place in South Carolina, with the Workforce Opportunity Act that I introduced last session. My bill, which applies only to state government, would delay a check into an applicant’s criminal background until an interview is granted or before a conditional offer is made. It would keep South Carolina in step with Georgia, where Republican Gov. Nathan Deal in February signed an executive order making Georgia the first state in the Deep South to remove questions related to criminal histories from all applications for state employment.

“It is relevant to find out whether somebody has a criminal record,” President Obama said in announcing the federal policy change. “What we are suggesting is, when it comes to the application, give folks a chance to get through the door. Give them a chance to get in there so that they can make their case.”

Ban-the-box legislation benefits taxpayers and society as a whole, by reducing the likelihood a former convict will become a repeat offender.

If allowed greater opportunities to work, those with criminal histories will become taxpayers, contributing to the betterment of society.

This story was originally published November 10, 2015 at 1:39 PM with the headline "Jackson: Ban the box to help turn ex-cons into contributing members of society."