Cleveland joins Ban the Box campaign

Cleveland has joined the Ban the Box movement, which eliminates the check box on a job application that asks an employee about previous felonies. This means Cleveland will no longer require candidates for city jobs to disclose felony information on their applications, a move Mayor Frank Jackson says was made because he didn't want to punish ex-convicts unnecessarily for past mistakes. "I have, in the past, asked for other employers to give those convicted of a felony a fair shot at obtaining employment," he said. "I hope that others will consider banning the box on job applications." He added that removing the question may give applicants relief due to the fact that they're not automatically excluded for consideration because of past slip ups. Stephen JohnsonGrove of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center told the Plain Dealer that the move isn't intended to "put a child molester in a day-care center," but rather to make transparent, sensible decisions. ESR Check reports that Cleveland is now one of 28 cities and counties that have banned the box, including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and Seattle.