UNMARKED? CRIMINAL RECORD CLEARING AND EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES.
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| Title: | UNMARKED? CRIMINAL RECORD CLEARING AND EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | SELBIN, JEFFREY, MCCRARY, JUSTIN, EPSTEIN, JOSHUA |
| Source: | Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology. Winter2018, Vol. 108 Issue 1, p1-72. 72p. |
| Subjects: | Criminal records, Background checks, Certificates of good conduct, Criminal procedure, Employee screening, Law |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| Abstract: | An estimated one in three American adults has a criminal record. While some records are for serious offenses, most are for arrests or relatively lowlevel misdemeanors. In an era of heightened security concerns, easily available data, and increased criminal background checks, these records act as a substantial barrier to gainful employment and other opportunities. Harvard sociologist Devah Pager describes people with criminal records as "marked" with a negative job credential. In response to this problem, lawyers have launched unmarking programs to help people take advantage of legal record clearing remedies. We studied a random sample of participants in one such program to analyze the impact of the record clearing intervention on employment outcomes. Using methods to control for selection bias and the effects of changes in the economy in our data, we found evidence that: (1) the record clearing intervention boosted participants' employment rates and average real earnings, and (2) people sought record clearing remedies after a period of suppressed earnings. More research needs to be done to understand the durability of the positive impact and its effects in different local settings and labor markets, but these findings suggest that the record clearing intervention makes a meaningful difference in employment outcomes for people with criminal records. The findings also suggest the importance of early intervention to increase employment opportunities for people with criminal records. Such interventions might include more legal services, but they might also include record clearing by operation of law or another mechanism that does not put the onus of unmarking on the person with a criminal record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology is the property of Northwestern University School of Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: pbh DbLabel: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection An: 128153680 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: UNMARKED? CRIMINAL RECORD CLEARING AND EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22SELBIN%2C+JEFFREY%22">SELBIN, JEFFREY</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22MCCRARY%2C+JUSTIN%22">MCCRARY, JUSTIN</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22EPSTEIN%2C+JOSHUA%22">EPSTEIN, JOSHUA</searchLink> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Criminal+Law+%26+Criminology%22">Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology</searchLink>. Winter2018, Vol. 108 Issue 1, p1-72. 72p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Criminal+records%22">Criminal records</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Background+checks%22">Background checks</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Certificates+of+good+conduct%22">Certificates of good conduct</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Criminal+procedure%22">Criminal procedure</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Employee+screening%22">Employee screening</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Law%22">Law</searchLink> – Name: SubjectGeographic Label: Geographic Terms Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+States%22">United States</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: An estimated one in three American adults has a criminal record. While some records are for serious offenses, most are for arrests or relatively lowlevel misdemeanors. In an era of heightened security concerns, easily available data, and increased criminal background checks, these records act as a substantial barrier to gainful employment and other opportunities. Harvard sociologist Devah Pager describes people with criminal records as "marked" with a negative job credential. In response to this problem, lawyers have launched unmarking programs to help people take advantage of legal record clearing remedies. We studied a random sample of participants in one such program to analyze the impact of the record clearing intervention on employment outcomes. Using methods to control for selection bias and the effects of changes in the economy in our data, we found evidence that: (1) the record clearing intervention boosted participants' employment rates and average real earnings, and (2) people sought record clearing remedies after a period of suppressed earnings. More research needs to be done to understand the durability of the positive impact and its effects in different local settings and labor markets, but these findings suggest that the record clearing intervention makes a meaningful difference in employment outcomes for people with criminal records. The findings also suggest the importance of early intervention to increase employment opportunities for people with criminal records. Such interventions might include more legal services, but they might also include record clearing by operation of law or another mechanism that does not put the onus of unmarking on the person with a criminal record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology is the property of Northwestern University School of Law and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 72 StartPage: 1 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Criminal records Type: general – SubjectFull: Background checks Type: general – SubjectFull: Certificates of good conduct Type: general – SubjectFull: Criminal procedure Type: general – SubjectFull: Employee screening Type: general – SubjectFull: Law Type: general – SubjectFull: United States Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: UNMARKED? CRIMINAL RECORD CLEARING AND EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: SELBIN, JEFFREY – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: MCCRARY, JUSTIN – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: EPSTEIN, JOSHUA IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Text: Winter2018 Type: published Y: 2018 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 00914169 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 108 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology Type: main |
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