“Ban the Box” Boosts Employment in High-Crime Neighborhoods
A growing number of localities have “banned the box” – regulated the use of questions about criminal history in hiring practices – and an updated report from the American Enterprise Institute looks at the effect. The report finds that the regulations have largely succeeded in increasing employment for those with criminal records. Employment of residents in high-crime areas rose by 4 percent, with particularly high increases in lower-wage jobs and in the public sector.