Ex-offender barriers to employment: racial disparities in labor markets with asymmetric information

Solinas‐Saunders, Monica; Stacer, Melissa J.; Guy, Roger

doi:10.1080/0735648x.2013.870492

Cited by 16 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Although Ban the Box initiatives could help "level the playing field" for jobseekers, theories of statistical discrimination suggest that they could also have negative consequences (Bushway, 2004;Holzer, Raphael, and Stoll, 2004;Solinas-Saunders, Stacer, and Guy, 2015). Statistical discrimination refers to the idea that employers use characteristics such as race or gender to draw "quick and dirty" assumptions about group differences in productivity and other attributes, particularly when they lack detailed information about applicants (Arrow, 1973;Bielby and Baron, 1986;Braddock and McPartland, 1987;Moss and Tilly, 1996;Phelps, 1972;Tomaskovic-Devey and Skaggs, 1999).…”

Section: Advent Of "Ban the Box" Legislationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Criminal Record Questions in the Era of “Ban the Box”

Vuolo

Lageson

Uggen

2017

Criminology & Public Policy

103

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Research Summary This study examines three central questions about criminal record inquiries on job applications, which is a rapidly developing area in criminology and public policy. We find the following: (1) Among the 78% of employers who ask about records, specific application questions vary greatly regarding the severity and timing of offenses. (2) Applications for restaurant positions are least likely to inquire about criminal histories, whereas racially diverse workplaces and establishments in the most and least advantaged neighborhoods are more likely to ask. (3) The race gap in employer callbacks is reduced when applicants have the chance to signal not having a record by answering “no,” which is consistent with theories of statistical discrimination. Policy Implications We conclude with a call to develop standards and best practices regarding inquiries about juvenile offenses, low‐level misdemeanor and traffic offenses, and the applicable time span. The need for such standards is made more apparent by the unevenness of criminal record questions across employees, establishments, and neighborhoods. We also suggest best practices for Ban the Box implementation to help combat potential statistical discrimination against African American men without records. Have you been convicted of a felony using your current name or any other name? If you do not answer this question, your application will not be considered. —Job application for laborer position at waste management company

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Section: Advent Of "Ban the Box" Legislationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Criminal Record Questions in the Era of “Ban the Box”

Vuolo

Lageson

Uggen

2017

Criminology & Public Policy

103

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“…Under these disproportionate rates of imprisonment, is an increased likelihood that a job applicant of racial minority will have a criminal record. Consequently, in the absence of criminal history information, judgements about criminality are made on the basis of racial stereotypes (Solinas-Saunders, Stacer & Guy, 2015). Conversely, Holzer, Raphael and Stoll (2006) found the use of criminal background checks mediated the influence of racial stereotypes for black male job applicants without a criminal history, thus improving their employment outcomes.…”

Section: Offenders' Racementioning

confidence: 99%

An exception to the rule: Belief in redeemability, desistance signals, and the employer’s decision to hire a job applicant with a criminal record

Reich

2017

Journal of Offender Rehabilitation

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“…One obvious solution to the reported employer discrimination experienced by formerly incarcerated individuals could seem to impose statutory limits on the availability of criminal history information. It is possible, however, that employers who are denied access to such information might use demographic information in a statistically discriminatory way (Solinas-Saunders, Stacer, & Guy, 2015). Recent studies suggest that some employers indeed use an applicant's race (along with gender and age) as a demographic marker for possession of a criminal record, and this prejudicial exclusion is worsened if employers lack access to criminal history information (Bushway, 2004;Holzer, Raphael, & Stoll, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Incarceration on Employment Prospects

Apel¹,

Ramakers²

2018

Handbook on the Consequences of Sentencing and Punishment Decisions

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License: Article 25fa pilot End User Agreement This publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act (Auteurswet) with explicit consent by the author. Dutch law entitles the maker of a short scientific work funded either wholly or partially by Dutch public funds to make that work publicly available for no consideration following a reasonable period of time after the work was first published, provided that clear reference is made to the source of the first publication of the work. This publication is distributed under The Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU) 'Article 25fa implementation' pilot project. In this pilot research outputs of researchers employed by Dutch Universities that comply with the legal requirements of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act are distributed online and free of cost or other barriers in institutional repositories. Research outputs are distributed six months after their first online publication in the original published version and with proper attribution to the source of the original publication. You are permitted to download and use the publication for personal purposes. All rights remain with the author(s) and/or copyrights owner(s) of this work. Any use of the publication other than authorised under this licence or copyright law is prohibited. If you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons.

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Ex-offender barriers to employment: racial disparities in labor markets with asymmetric information

Cited by 16 publications

References 53 publications

Criminal Record Questions in the Era of “Ban the Box”

Criminal Record Questions in the Era of “Ban the Box”

An exception to the rule: Belief in redeemability, desistance signals, and the employer’s decision to hire a job applicant with a criminal record

Impact of Incarceration on Employment Prospects

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