Ban the Box Comes to Ohio Starting June 1

Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn

Beginning on June 1, 2015, Ohio will “Ban the Box” and remove the box that applicants are asked to check on state civil service job applications if they have past criminal convictions, according to a report by The Associated Press (AP) on the Cincinnati.com website (UUPDATE: Kasich Signs Ban the Box into Law).

AP reports that the Ban the Box policy would still allow civil service applicants to be questioned about – given a chance to explain – past criminal records during job interview, while finalists for jobs with the state would undergo criminal background checks.

A bill pending in the state legislature – Ohio House Bill 56 (HB 56) – would extend the Ban the Box policy “to all public employers, including cities, counties, villages, township, and schools,” AP reports. However, HB 56 would not apply to job seekers in the private sector.

Ohio is one of 17 states with some type of Ban the Box policy, joining California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia.

In addition, 100 cities and counties nationwide have passed Ban the Box legislation, according to research from the National Employment Law Project (NELP).

More Ban the Box Information from ESR

Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority®’ – offers a Ban the Box Information Page with links to the latest news and resources about the Ban the Box movement. The Ban the Box page is at https://www.esrcheck.com/Ban-the-Box/.

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