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Rep. Maloney Urges Employers To 'Ban The Box,' Hire Ex-Cons

COLD SPRING, N.Y. -- Democratic U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney  is urging employers to ban a practice that could be keeping people with criminal records from getting jobs.

U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney

U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney

Photo Credit: File

Maloney, who represents New York’s 18th Congressional District, said he is pursuing his criminal justice reform agenda by asking Hudson Valley companies, businesses and communities to join a “Ban the Box” initiative.

Qualified applicants may be getting rejected out of hand because, Maloney said, they were required to check a box indicating a criminal record on their preliminary applications.

Saying that the “criminal justice system is broken from start to finish,” Maloney claimed the requirement is creating “unnecessary barriers."

“We say we want folks who serve their time to get a job when they leave the system, but all too often the job applications they fill out make it impossible for them to get a fair shot,” the congressman said.

Maloney co-sponsored the Fair Chance Act, which would “ban the box” on applications for employment with federal agencies and federal contractors.

He also recently joined colleagues in calling on President Barack Obama to take executive action to “ban the box” on federal job applications, including federal contractors.

Nearly one in three American adults have something in their pasts that might “show up on a routine criminal background check,” Maloney said.

More than 70 million Americans have a criminal record that makes it difficult to secure long-term employment, he added.

Among the major companies that have joined the “Ban the Box” initiative are PepsiCo, Koch Industries, Starbucks and Google, he said.

The initiative will not prevent employers from finding out about a prospective employee’s criminal history; it would just delay the check until further along in the application process, he explained.

Maloney said that anyone with any questions about the initiative can call his Newburgh District Office at (845)-561-1259.

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