Our Ban the Box campaign calls for removing the question and check box, “Have you been convicted by a court?” from applications for employment, housing, public benefits, insurance, loans and other services. These questions mean lifelong discrimination and exclusion because of a past arrest or conviction record.
All of Us or None is recognized nationwide as the originator and the core of a Ban the Box movement that is sweeping the country. As of August 2015, over 100 cities or counties, and 18 states have removed questions about conviction history from their public employment applications – over 100 million people across the country live in a jurisdiction where the box has been banned in some form or another. Check out our Ban the Box historical timeline to see how we and our allies have developed this movement.
Campaigns to Ban the Box around the U.S. have been started by a wide variety of people: formerly-incarcerated people, neighborhood legal services agencies, City Council members, Mayors, other elected officials. For any of our campaigns to win, it’s crucial that we build broad coalitions that recognize the grassroots voice of people who have been directly affected by this discrimination. The short video Enough is Enough also describes the campaign.
To start a campaign in your area, check out our Ban the Box Campaign Toolkit. Contact Jesse Stout, jesse@prisonerswithchildren.org or banthebox@prisonerswithchildren.org (or 415-625-7049) for a hard copy of our Ban the Box Organizers’ Toolkit and more information.
National Ban the Box Executive Order Campaign
Our national Ban the Box campaign asks President Obama to issue an executive order and presidential memorandum to Ban the Box for private contractors doing business with the federal government. Federal contractors oversee around 30 million jobs; many are paid for with our tax dollars. By issuing an executive order to Ban the Box, President Obama could provide hundreds of thousandsof people the “decent shot” he says they deserve. Please consider downloading and printing our petition and gather signatures in your area.
To get involved with our executive order Ban the Box campaign, contact Dorsey Nunn at dorsey@prisonerswithchildren.org.
Ban the Box Legislation
All of Us or None and LSPC co-sponsored AB 218 in 2013, California legislation that implemented Ban the Box policies for public employment statewide. (See the AB 218 Implementation Guide, created by AOUON and National Employment Law Project.)
In 2014 we helped pass the San Francisco Fair Chance Act – legislation that has expanded local access to housing and jobs for people with conviction records. This model legislation sets standards for how and when employers and housing providers may consider conviction records.
Several cities and counties who have adopted Ban the Box also require that their vendors adopt the same hiring practices as for public employment, which further increases job opportunities.
Ban the Box Pledge for Non-Profits
Nationally, we are promoting the Fair Chance Pledge: banning the box at nonprofits and foundations. If you think your workplace might want to take the pledge, please visit http://www.bantheboxcampaign.org
Members of the Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People & Families Movement gathered in Washington, D.C. to review and strategize around Congress’ proposed legislation to “Ban the Box” on federal jobs. FICPFM leaders met with key staffers for the bill sponsors and in the White House, relaying their expertise and analysis on employment discrimination against people with criminal records. Among the directly impacted leaders were attorneys, policy experts, and the people who coined the very phrase, “Ban the Box.”
Formerly Incarcerated, Convicted People & Families Movement 