This guide provides assistance to communities seeking to join the ban the box movement.
This resource guide documents the cities and counties that taken steps to remove barriers to employment for qualified workers with criminal records, specifically by removing conviction history questions from job applicationsa reform commonly known as "ban the box." The guide provides key information to help local officials and advocates initiate reforms in their communities, including contact information, media, and campaign material links. It also summarizes the 53 local jurisdictions across the U.S. that have adopted "ban the box" in the past 9 years, including Chicago, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Memphis, and Baltimore. In 2012-2013, 15 cities and counties across the Nation have adopted these policies emphasizing an applicant's qualifications rather than his or her past mistakes, such as New York City, Cleveland, and Durham. Of special significance, 13 cities and counties now extend the ban the box policy to private contractors or in the case of Philadelphia and Newark, to private employers, as well. In addition, 10 States have adopted ban the box policies. State resources listed