Ohio to Ban the Box on Applications for State Government Positions

As of June 1, 2015, Ohio is “voluntarily” joining the Ban the Box Movement and removing the question on government job applications regarding the applicant’s criminal history.

 

The move comes amid growing national concern that the checkbox about a person’s criminal history prohibits offenders who have paid their debt to society from obtaining employment and also deters offenders from seeking jobs which causes employers to miss out on qualified applicants.

 

Civil service applicants will, however, be asked to disclose past crimes during job interviews and finalists for state jobs will undergo background checks.   The new practice allows people to explain the circumstances surrounding their offenses.

 

Ohio Administrative Services Director Robert Blair said, “Ohio came to the conclusion that checking “yes” on the box may have served as a quick way for agencies in the past to rule out applicants inside a state government that receives some 250,000 job applications a year.”

Supported By WordPress Database Support Services