NCJ Number
224752
Journal
Criminology & Public Policy Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2008 Pages: 371-404
Date Published
August 2008
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This article examines whether hiring of known ex-offenders takes place in firms that actually check for criminal history records from an outside source, and how the effect differs conditional on whether the check is legally mandated and on the source of the check.
Abstract
Evidence is found that the use of background checks is negatively related to the hiring of ex-offenders. The effect is strongly negative for those employers that are legally required to perform background checks. However, some employers seem to perform checks to gain additional information about ex-offenders, and checking seems to have no effect on hiring ex-offenders for those employers not legally required to perform checks. The rapid increase in the Nation’s incarceration rate over the past decade has raised questions about how to reintegrate a growing number of ex-offenders successfully. Employment has been shown to be an important factor in reintegration. This article explores this question using an establishment-level survey taken in 2001 in Los Angeles. It examines the effect of employer-initiated criminal background checks on the actual hiring of ex-offenders. Tables, references, and appendix