Ban the Box Employment Policy
New York City Commission on Human Rights · New York City, NY, United States · 2015
Summary
New York's ban the box policy produced the double-edged result that audit studies had predicted: it improved some outcomes for people with records while triggering statistical discrimination against young Black men who employers now assumed might have records. The unintended consequence is robust in audit studies across multiple cities. The finding suggests that ban the box works best when paired with fair-chance certification, targeted outreach to employers, or affirmative hiring programs that give employers a direct signal rather than forcing statistical inference.
Research question
"Does removing criminal history checkboxes from job applications increase employment of people with records?"
Methodology
Intervention
NYC prohibited private employers from asking about criminal history before conditional job offer; enforcement via complaint process
Assignment
Quasi-experimental (pre-post with synthetic control)
Sample size
All NYC private sector hiring
Primary outcome
Employment rate for people with criminal records; employer callback rates by race
Effect estimate
Employment of people with records: modest increase; callback rates for Black applicants without records: declined 7% as employers statistically discriminated
Decision
Policy maintained; expanded to require individualized assessment; equity monitoring added
Result
Mixed
Employment of people with records: modest increase; callback rates for Black applicants without records: declined 7% as employers statistically discriminated
Evidence strength
Moderate
Quasi-experimental design; causal interpretation requires care.
Replication status
Partially replicated
Institution
New York City Commission on Human Rights
Location
New York City, NY, United States
Year
2015
Policy area
Public Safety
Mechanism
Information