Gov. Nixon orders state agencies to ‘ban the box’ for job applicants

Gov. Nixon orders state agencies to ‘ban the box’ for job applicants:



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Governor Jay Nixon (D) has ordered that state agencies stop asking job applicants about their criminal history on their applications.

Governor Jay Nixon (D)

Nixon issued an executive order telling all departments, agencies, and boards and commissions he has authority over to wait until later in the job application process to ask an applicant about his or her criminal background. The order does not apply to positions for which a criminal history would make an applicant specifically ineligible.

A statement from Nixon’s office explaining the order states, “Approximately 96 percent of the individuals who are sentenced to prison will eventually return to their communities. But formerly incarcerated individuals frequently encounter challenges in obtaining employment, which make it more difficult for them to successfully assimilate back into society.”

It said the unemployment rate for Missourians on parole last year was 44-percent.