In the early 2000s, grassroots organizers in San Francisco and Boston began urging local governments to remove questions about convictions from job applications so that people can be judged first on their qualifications. Just over a decade later, over 100 jurisdictions have adopted ban-the-box and fair chance policies. The National Employment Law Project (NELP) advocates for a “fair chance” hiring policy that includes removing the check-box, plus a robust set of fair hiring policies to ease employment barriers. The most effective policies don’t just delay a background check; they ensure that when background checks are required, they’re used fairly. Now more than 100 million Americans-roughly one-third of the U.S. population-live in a jurisdiction with a ban-the-box or fair chance policy.

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