Why Target stopped asking job applicants if they've been convicted of a crime
Kissy Mason understands the importance of second chances. As she grew up in Minneapolis in the '80s and '90s, she watched her family members move in and out of prison and saw the discrimination they faced as a result.
鈥淧eople in my family were being locked up, and then they were locked out of a right to live, a right to employment,鈥� she said.
Unemployment is a huge barrier to the success of ex-offenders outside prison walls.
Mason decided early on that she wouldn't follow in their footsteps and end up in the prison system. After moving around Minnesota, she returned to Minneapolis to earn her associate's degree in criminal justice. But in 2006, a domestic argument got out of control and led to a conviction. Mason was offered probation鈥攂ut her record was no longer clean.
Because of a background check that brought up the incident, she no longer qualified for low-income, or Section 8, housing and struggled to find employment. 鈥淎t that time,鈥� she said, 鈥淚 had three children, and I was trying to provide for them.鈥�
鈥淪ometimes people bar you from jobs forever because of one incident, and I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 fair,鈥� Mason said. 鈥淧eople should be given another chance. It shouldn鈥檛 be one time and you鈥檙e out.鈥�
Mason鈥檚 story is not unique. Nearly of those released from prison in the United States will be arrested again within three years of release. Unemployment is a huge barrier to their success outside prison walls.
鈥淢any return to their communities with no more skills and resources than when they were arrested and incarcerated,鈥� says Victoria Law, author of Resistance Behind Bars: The Struggles of Incarcerated Women. 鈥淔or many, during their incarceration technology has changed so much that the skills that they do have might be obsolete.鈥�
But Mason didn鈥檛 accept the situation as it was. Instead, she became involved with a campaign to reduce the employment discrimination faced by former offenders through policies that prevent employers from asking about an applicant鈥檚 criminal record, at least in the early phases of the process.
It鈥檚 an idea that鈥檚 catching on: Legislation of this type has been passed in one form or another in more than 60 counties, cities, and states, according to the 鈥攁nd that number is growing.
These policies are known by the phrase 鈥渂an the box,鈥� coined in 2003 by All of Us or None, an organization founded by formerly incarcerated people who faced barriers to employment. The 鈥渂ox鈥� refers to the little square on job applications that potential employees are asked to check if they鈥檝e ever been convicted of a felony.
鈥淏an the box鈥� policies aim to remove this question from job applications.
Law sees 鈥渂an the box鈥� policies as a necessary step in improving the outlook for ex-offenders. 鈥淔or initial employment applications to include a box asking about felony convictions is yet another hurdle for a person to surmount to be able to survive post-prison,鈥� she said.
In most cases, 鈥渂an the box鈥� policies do not stop potential employers from conducting criminal background checks, but instead delay the process until an employer has had the opportunity to get to know the employee's qualifications first, usually through at least one face-to-face interview.
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed a statewide 鈥淏an the Box鈥� bill into law on Jan. 1, 2014. That day was a triumph for TakeAction Minnesota, the network of unions and progressive groups who led the movement to develop and pass the legislation.
TakeAction members knew they faced an uphill battle. Minnesota鈥檚 majority-Republican legislature wasn鈥檛 a natural ally of legislation that benefited former prisoners, and the state had one of the in the country. The group decided to split its attention between pushing for new legislation and pressuring corporations to adopt fairer hiring standards on their own.
As a major employer based in Minnesota, Target was the obvious choice. TakeAction members began calling on Target executives to adopt fairer hiring practices back in 2012 and held rallies at the company鈥檚 headquarters, but failed to receive the response they hoped for.
The group had better luck after it partnered with 150 formerly incarcerated people who had applied for seasonal positions at Target in 2012. Not surprisingly, none of them were hired鈥攂ut the rejections were tangible proof of the discrimination that former offenders faced as they applied to jobs.
With the help of TakeAction Minnesota, 10 of the rejected applicants would later file complaints with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Kandace Montgomery, an organizer with TakeAction, credits the mounting pressure on Target and the subsequent attention from the press as key factors in the passage of Minnesota's "ban the box" law.
The high volume of job applicants with records also served as the opening for a conversation between activists and executives at Target, who in October 2013 to 鈥渂an the box鈥� in all Target stores nationwide.
Making it easier for formerly incarcerated people to find work isn鈥檛 the only expected benefit of 鈥渂an the box鈥� legislation. Supporters also believe that these policies will help bring down the United States鈥� incarceration rate鈥攚hich is the 鈥攁nd make neighborhoods safer as well.
鈥滸iving them a chance to reintegrate into communities and support families is going to be part and parcel of reducing incarceration rates,鈥� said Madeline Neighly, a staff attorney for the National Employment Law Project. As she puts it, it鈥檚 about being 鈥渟mart on crime鈥� instead of 鈥渢ough on crime.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e creating safer communities not through locking up community members but by giving them opportunities and second chances,鈥� she said, adding that positive press about the policies is leading to a broader conversation on what it means to have a criminal record.
It鈥檚 an impressive achievement for supporters of 鈥渂an the box鈥� legislation. Yet back in Minnesota, Mason points out that these polices alone won鈥檛 eliminate the barriers faced by formerly incarcerated people.
Ex-offenders still deal with driver鈥檚 licensing restrictions, prejudice after the job interview has been completed, and, in some states, limited voting rights. Furthermore, the background checking process needs to be reviewed鈥擪issy says her own conviction was pulled up even after it had been expunged.
There鈥檚 still a long way to go, Mason says, but 鈥渂an the box鈥� is a good first step.
鈥� Nur Lalji for , a national, nonprofit media project that fuses powerful ideas with practical actions. Nur is a contributor to YES! based in the Seattle area. Follow her on Twitter at .
