Since fair chance hiring laws are relatively new, there isn’t conclusive evidence about their effectiveness. Academic studies to date offer mixed opinions, but offer some basis for optimism:
A 2016 study by economists Amanda Agan and Sonja Starr found that employers responded less often to job applications from candidates with traditionally African-American sounding names after ban the box laws were enacted than they did before.² That led the authors to conclude that ban the box laws may have an unintended backfire effect, prompting employers to avoid African-American candidates because of the disproportionately high percentage of African-Americans with criminal records. Learn More.