Metro’s Civil Service Commission voted unanimously in favor of a movement called Ban the Box. Nashville will join about 100 cities and 16 states that have removed questions about criminal convictions from job applications. It is called “Ban the Box” because it will put an end to the small check box on job forms that asks whether an applicant has been convicted of a crime. Organizers said they are in favor of background checks and they believe an employee should have to disclose their criminal past, but feel it should happen at a later phase in the interview process. “We have never been opposed to disclosure, but when that is the first thing that you do on an application, there is bias and there is prejudice,” said Jackie Sims with Democracy Nashville.

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