In this series, we will explore some of the ways states vary from one another in their employment laws.

At one time, it was common for job applications to ask applicants if they had ever been convicted of a crime. Some went further and affirmatively stated that individuals with felony convictions need not apply. However, there has been a “ban the box” movement across the country (the “box” being a box an applicant checks to indicate whether they have a conviction) to give applicants with convictions an opportunity to get at least an interview before they are asked about their conviction history.

While the goal of these ban the box laws is generally the same, regardless of jurisdiction, the implementation of these laws has varied. Currently, 16 states (CA, CO, CT, HI, IL, LA, ME, MD, MA, MN, NJ, NM, OR, RI, VT, and WA) and the District of Columbia have ban the box laws for private employers. These laws vary on when an employer can ask an applicant about their conviction history. 

An employer cannot ask until after a conditional offer of employment is made in California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Minnesota. In Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, and Rhode Island, questions about conviction history are fair game after the initial interview. In Illinois, such questions may be asked once the initial interview has been scheduled. 

The most lenient states are Colorado, Connecticut, New Mexico, where conviction questions may be asked after the initial application has been submitted.  A few states (Maine, Vermont, and Washington) allow conviction questions to be asked after the applicant is deemed otherwise qualified for the position, which could occur at any point during the hiring process.

Complicating this process further, a number of cities and counties have their own ban the box laws. For example, Ohio has no state-wide ban the box law for private employers, but Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Columbus, Dayton, Youngstown, and others do. Cuyahoga, Franklin, Hamilton, Lucas, and Summit Counties have laws as well. An employer could conceivably be subject to city, county, and state ban the box laws and all might be slightly different.