October 1, 2022

Harris County, Texas, has recently become one of the many jurisdictions in the country to institute a ban-the-box type policy. Harris County includes the majority of the City of Houston. It is now the sixth county in Texas with a Fair Chance Policy, joining over 37 states and 150 cities and counties that have adopted such policies.

The movement toward ban-the-box policies has gained steam nationwide. These policies vary on whether they apply to public and private employers. Ban-the-box intends to give job applicants with criminal backgrounds a fair chance. The hope is to have employers consider their qualifications before bias caused by former arrests or convictions gets in the way.

Ban-the-box policies typically prohibit any questions about criminal records on an employment application. In addition, employers may not inquire about criminal backgrounds until a specific stage in the hiring process. This stage is often after the first interview or after proposing a conditional employment offer. Should the employer discover a criminal record during the background check, they must run an individualized assessment to determine whether the history reasonably disqualifies the candidate.

Harris County decided to follow the steps of governments like Austin County, Travis County, and the more recent DeSoto when instituting its ban-the-box policy. However, Harris County chose to limit the ban to public employers. Among county employers, it will only apply to departments led by county appointees, not the offices of elected officials. However, this does encompass the majority of county employees.

According to Harris County’s ban-the-box policies, employers cannot deny an applicant the chance for employment based on arrests that did not result in a conviction, misdemeanors resulting in no jail time, and expunged or sealed convictions. Covered employers may only perform a criminal background check after issuing a conditional offer of employment. Individualized assessments must consider the offense’s nature, severity, and relation to the position.

It becomes more evident that ban-the-box policies are gaining momentum in Texas, as they are throughout the country. Though Harris County’s policy does not affect private employers directly, this may change depending on the success of the public sector. As a result, private employers should stay attentive to future legislation that may have broader impacts. They should also review workplace policies and procedures to ensure there are no unnecessary disqualifiers for candidates with criminal backgrounds.

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