A Critical Look At Ban-The-Box Policies And Their Unintended Consequences

Authors

Jayme Neiman Renfro, University of Northern Iowa

Document Type

Book Chapter

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Implications of Marginalization and Critical Race Theory on Social Justice

First Page

68

Last Page

86

Abstract

Ban-the-box policies were passed to help people with criminal backgrounds get jobs. These policies were developed after it became clear that large swaths of the population, primarily men of color, were being systematically disadvantaged and unable to obtain work. While initial research showed that these policies were successful, subsequent, more critical studies indicate that while ban-the-box policies help ex-felons obtain work generally, they may actually do more to hurt minority populations than they do to help. This happens because employers, lacking the information from "the box," may be using other information, including statistical discrimination to determine who to hire. This chapter discusses this unintended consequence including its link with the race-neutrality of the policy and suggestions to fix it.

Department

Department of Political Science

Original Publication Date

7-19-2023

DOI of published version

10.4018/978-1-6684-3615-8.ch004

Recommended Citation

Renfro, Jayme Neiman, "A Critical Look At Ban-The-Box Policies And Their Unintended Consequences" (2023). Faculty Publications. 5414.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facpub/5414