Just under half of formerly incarcerated people are unable to find a job one year after leaving prison. One of the main contributors to such a horrifically high unemployment rate among people with criminal records is a form of legalized discrimination call the "box," which requires Americans to disclose their criminal background to employers on job applications.
Sign now to demand: end legalized discrimination in hiring practices! Ban the box in all states!
The United States locks up more people than any other country in the world -- and it's not even close. While only around 4% of the entire world population lives within U.S. borders, about 20% of all incarcerated people globally are in prisons right here in the "land of the free." The scope of the American criminal justice system is so vast, that 1 in 3 American adults has a criminal record. Yet in over half of states, people are required to disclose their criminal background to employers. This leads to rampant discrimination against people who have already served their time, and makes achieving financial security all but impossible for formerly incarcerated people.
We also know that the criminal justice system in the United States is neither fair nor equal. Black and brown people are disproportionately likely to be arrested and sentenced to significantly longer sentences than their white counterparts. In addition, most people who go to prison live in poverty. A 2014 study found that incarcerated people had a medium income of just $19,185 in the year before serving time. So not only do criminal background disclosures discriminate against all people with histories of incarceration, they disproportionately hurt people of color and some of the poorest Americans.
No person who has served their time deserves to be discriminated against. Let formerly incarcerated Americans work! Tell the states who haven't taken action yet to ban the box now!
