Research/Document Library

Cities Pave the Way: Promising Reentry Policies that Promote Local Hiring of People with Criminal Records

This paper assembles the most promising local policies that promote the hiring of people with criminal records. Of special significance, the paper features twenty-three cities and counties — four more in the past year — that have decided to "ban the box" on their job applications that asks about an individual’s criminal record. In addition, the paper highlights a range of other innovative hiring strategies, ranging from first source hiring policies to special tax credits and bonding subsidies. These promising reforms open up employment opportunities for people with criminal records which, in turn, improve public safety in those communities hardest hit by crime and unemployment. The paper also describes some of the fundamentals of the local government hiring process and the federal civil rights laws that regulate criminal background checks.

Available online

http://www.nelp.org/

Author(s)

National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education, and Families/National Employment Law Project

Date

July 2010