Baltimore, Maryland Passes “Ban the Box” for All Private Employers

On May 15, 2014, the City of Baltimore, Maryland, became the tenth U.S. jurisdiction to "ban the box" by passing legislation restricting private employers from inquiring into the criminal history of job applicants.  Baltimore, Maryland joins other states/cities as follows:   Buffalo, N.Y., Newark, N.J., Philadelphia, PA, Seattle, WA, and San Francisco, CA, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Rhode Island.

The Baltimore law forbids inquiries into criminal history before an employer makes a conditional offer of employment. Baltimore's law goes into effect on August 13, 2014 and applies to all employers with 10 or more full time employees.

Aurico recommends that employers review their applications for the criminal question and determine if they have operations in Baltimore, Maryland and other cities/states that would be impacted.  Aurico also recommends that employers consider removing the criminal question from the application and ask the criminal question later on in the process.