"For in the end, [Huxley] was trying to tell us what afflicted the people in Brave New World was not that they were laughing instead of thinking, but that they did not know what they were laughing about and why they had stopped thinking." --Neil Postman

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Ban the Box

   As I was browsing through the New York Times' "Room For Debate" section I came across an article titled "Should a Jail Record Be an Employer's First Impression?" The article reminded me of a family member who is currently serving time in prison. I began to wonder how rough his life will be with a criminal record. The article expands on how a criminal record can impact a person's life and make it difficult for them to get a job. The reason is obvious, many employers will not hire criminals because they believe that they are dishonest, likely to commit a crime on the job, or cause problems on the job. However, I believe that these people deserve chances, they do not deserve to be treated differently because of a jail record. 

   In 2004 the Ban the Box campaign was created by an organization named All of Us or None. The national campaign aimed at employers to remove the check box on hiring applications that ask whether or not a person has a criminal record. As of today 11 states, including California, have banned the box and mandated the removal of conviction history questions from job applications for private employers. I believe that it is fair to the people to keep their criminal record private when applying for jobs, but my question is how what can these companies do to confirm that these people can be trusted? Does the degree of the crime determine whether or not a person is eligible to keep their criminal record private? Is the Ban the Box campaign a safe idea? Do you think the Ban the Box campaign is fair?


- Lucas Syyap
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2 comments:

  1. Dominic DiazAugust 5, 2018 at 4:07 PM

    I think the box should be there because let's say someone was caught for driving under the influence of like alcohol or something illegal; I'm 99% sure that if they were applying to be a taxi driver that you would not want to be in a car that they're driving. -Dominic Diaz

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  2. Eli CokleyAugust 5, 2018 at 9:22 PM

    Criminal records should be taken on a case to case basis. Employers should have a right to know if they're going to be hiring a convict, but the thing is, sometimes with a simple check box and no room to explain the nature of your conviction, employers will turn potential employees away over an unpaid fine or a DUI. Some of these people are treated like convicted murderers when they make simple mistakes and their lives and careers are ruined for the rest of their lives because of it.

    So, no, the box shouldn't be banned, but there should be much more room to explain the nature of your crime as opposed to a single checkbox that could mean a range of things

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