“Ban the Box” Bill Presented to Prison Reform Task Force
Senator Quinton Ross proposes taking off the criminal background question from job applications.
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It’s a question that comes up on just about every job application.
“Do you have a criminal background?” with little space for explanation.
“There are about 70 million people in the country that are affected by some type of criminal background, but they are on the unemployment roles because of that question,” said Sen. Quinton Ross.
Senator Quinton Ross presented his solution before the Prison Reform Task Force Tuesday.
“Remove the box that asks about criminal history in an application. This will allow the individual to at least sit down with an employee to at least discuss the issue or situation that may have occurred and hopefully lead them to being hired in the position,” said Ross.
Ross says by so called “banning the box”, the applicant would be able to wait until the job has been offered before disclosing their criminal history.
Senator Cam Ward says reforming the prison system in Alabama is something that is necessary.
While the safety of Alabamians is the first priority, he says there also needs to be a way for the ex-convicts to transition back into society and be productive citizens.
“What you’re making sure is, when someone gets out of prison, they’ve paid their time to society. They are going to be able to get a job. They will be able to go somewhere and work. They’ll be able to get a skill. And there’s going to be a much less likelihood they are going to recommit a crime again.”
