As regular readers know, COTTonLINE likes stories of unintended consequences. Most often they are situations in which some rule or policy is instituted with the very best intentions, only to discover that it makes worse that which it was intended to make better.
Our example today is from the Urban Institute website, and it's a tale of trying to help black individuals with criminal records find employment by banning questions about a criminal record on employment applications, a practice called "banning the box." How, you are wondering, does it have unintended consequences?
It turns out when employers don't ask about criminal records, don't do background checks, they are less likely to hire individuals from groups with a history of high incarceration - in other words, blacks, and perhaps Hispanics.
Checking criminal records helps individuals with no criminal record get jobs. It proves they don't fit the stereotype of their group. "Banning the box" leads to stereotyping and costs law-abiding applicants job opportunities they'd otherwise have. That is, it makes worse a bias favoring whites and Asians. Hat tip to RealClearPolicy for the link.
