Maryland bans the box

Maryland Bans the Box for private employers

NOTE: This article was initially posted in May 2013 and has been updated with new and current information.

As you may know, Ban the Box refers to removing the criminal convictions question from employment applications. Preferring that any discussion of criminal histories be done further along in the application process and in person. Hoping to make the process fairer for applicants.

In October of 2013, Maryland’s first Ban the Box law took effect. The law removed the criminal conviction question from State employment applications. At that time, there were only seven states with similar legislation.  Since then the Ban the Box movement has swept the nation with cities, counties, and states enacting laws. According to the National Employment Law Project, as of July 2019, there were thirty-five states and one hundred and fifty cities and counties that have Ban the Box laws. Thirteen states have laws that prohibit private employers from asking about criminal history on the application. As of January 1, 2020, Maryland became the fourteenth.

Maryland Private Employer law takes effect January 2020

The Maryland legislature passed a private employer Ban the Box law in 2019 only to have the law vetoed by the Governor. In one of the first acts of the 2020 legislature, the Maryland General Assembly voted to override the veto.

The new law states that, before the first in person interview, employers may not ask an applicant to disclose details about whether or not a criminal record exists. This law only applies to those employers with fifteen or more employees too include seasonal, temporary, and contractual employees.

So far only a few major corporations, such as Target and Walmart, have publically “Banned the box”.

Details of the laws procession through the legislative process can be found at http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/hb0994/?ys=2019rs