People with criminal records in California and around the country face an uphill climb when trying to get a job. To improve their odds of getting hired, advocates for ex-offenders have tried a strategy known as ban the box, which prevents employers from asking about felony convictions on job applications. Researchers, however, have uncovered an unfortunate result of the ban. Young and low-skilled black or Hispanic men with no criminal histories experienced a reduction in employment opportunities in states and municipalities where the employers could not inquire about past records.
Companies that discriminate against disabled workers
California workers who are disabled may be interested to learn that in 2015 there were approximately 27,000 disability discrimination charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Further, those who were disabled were well under-represented in the workforce with just 17.5 percent of employees having some sort of disability.
