Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Support from Clinton, Sanders, O’Malley, and Obama for “Ban the Box,” Repeats Call for Executive Order

WASHINGTON – Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to Hillary Clinton’s statement of support for “banning the box,” removing the check box from job applications used to pre-screen applicants with prior convictions. Clinton now joins other Democratic Presidential candidates Senator Bernie Sanders, who joined a letter with 25 other senators calling for a ban the box and fair chance hiring executive order in May, and Governor Martin O’Malley, who includes fair chance hiring in his policy platform.  President Obama also endorsed the concept of banning the box at the NAACP convention in July. The Leadership Conference has joined with formerly incarcerated advocates and a coalition of organizations urging the President to issue an executive order to implement these policies with federal workers and contractors. 

“We applaud Secretary Clinton’s endorsement of a commonsense solution to a pernicious problem in American society—our nation’s refusal to give the formerly incarcerated a second chance at a decent life. With Clinton’s announcement, the three leading Democratic presidential candidates and President Obama himself have all endorsed banning the box.

But an endorsement does nothing to help the 70 million Americans with an arrest or conviction record who must struggle with a lifetime of barriers in the way of their ability to work, find affordable housing, or pursue a college degree. 18 states, 100 cities and counties, and major employers like Starbucks, Walmart, Koch Industries, and Target have already put these policies in place. It’s time for the federal government to catch up to the nation and give millions of Americans a second chance and a fair chance at employment and opportunity.

President Obama must listen to the calls from formerly incarcerated people, from civil rights groups, and from businesses who all want the White House to walk the talk by issuing an executive order banning the box for federal jobs and contractors and implementing hiring practices that give these applicants a fair chance at employment.”

Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.

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