A new bill introduced in the New Jersey Senate suggests that we may be next in line to join the "ban-the-box" reform movement that has swept the nation. The Opportunity to Compete Act, introduced on Feb. 21, is the latest of a series of reforms that aim to reduce barriers faced by ex-offenders attempting to re-enter the workforce, by prohibiting employers from asking about criminal convictions on employment applications (banning the yes-or-no check box where job seekers must indicate if they have a criminal history), and by otherwise regulating the use of criminal-history information. See S. 2586, 215th Leg., 2d Ann. Sess. (N.J. 2013). If the bill passes, New Jersey will join nine other states and 50 local jurisdictions, including its own cities of Newark and Atlantic City, which have already rallied behind the cause.
The reforms have been inspired, in part, by startling statistics cited by the National Employment Law Project, revealing that 65 million adults in America nearly one in four have a criminal record that may show up on a routine background check. Given that most employment applications inquire about criminal histories, and the fact that there has been a dramatic increase in the use of criminal background checks by employers in the hiring process, these Americans face significant hurdles in obtaining employment. The Opportunity to Compete Act, and reforms like it, seeks to address this concern as well as others raised by these circumstances.
