The Criminal Record Complex: Risk, Race, and the Struggle for Work in America

How a convergence of policy, law, and profit drives the use of criminal background checks in hiring

Most employers in the United States routinely conduct criminal background checks on job applicants, weeding out those with criminal convictions—and thus denying opportunities to those who need them most. In this powerful analysis, Melissa Burch sheds light on one of the most significant forces of social and economic marginalization of our time—discrimination on the basis of criminal records. C...