Michael R. Strain, Columnist

Think Ex-Felons Should Be Working? Then Give Them a Chance

“Ban the box” laws are about fairness. They also help the U.S. economy.

April 3, 2019 at 2:00 PM UTC

Michael R. Strain is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is director of economic policy studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the author of “The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).”

The labor pool could be bigger.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

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When people first apply for a job, they are typically asked if they have been convicted of a crime. Often, they are asked to check a box if they have.

But in recent years, the numbers of states and localities that “ban the box” has risen significantly. These laws, which have existed for two decades, prohibit employers from asking job candidates about their criminal history until closer to the end of the hiring process rather than on the initial application.