From Grits for Breakfast: Fair Chance Recap

Here's a story that combines out look at criminal justice reform with pre-emption, specifically with the relationship between local governments and the state of Texas. Should landlords and employers be prevented from asking about criminal history in the initial application?

- Click here for the post.

Cutting to the chase:

Briefly, the arguments on either side of “ban the box”:

For:

- Helps restore civil rights to people who have been incarcerated and puts them and their loved ones on the road to economic stability.
- Lowers recidivism; employment is one of the strongest predictors of desistance from crime.
- Increases applicant pools for businesses.
- Expands tax base for communities and governments.

Against:

- Restricts businesses’ freedom.
- Opens businesses up to litigation if they rescind an offer after doing a background check.
- Imposes high costs on employers.
- Without criminal history information, employers will assume criminal histories for black and brown people and discriminate even more than they already do.