Koch Industries, Facebook to Help Obama Find Jobs for Ex-Cons
- Nineteen large companies sign on to criminal justice overhaul
- Obama has encouraged employers to "ban the box" in hiring
The login page for Facebook is seen on an iPhone in this arranged photograph in London on Aug. 29, 2012.
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/BloombergCompanies including Facebook Inc., Koch Industries Inc. and Alphabet Inc. said Monday they would help the Obama administration knock down barriers to employment for ex-convicts, part of President Barack Obama’s attempt to overhaul the U.S. criminal justice system.
Executives from 19 major corporations came to the White House on Monday after agreeing to sign a pledge to take measures including "banning the box" on job applications -- the practice of asking applicants whether they have criminal records. Obama has directed the federal government to end the practice in its own hiring and delay questioning applicants about their criminal histories.