Can an employer or landlord ask about a criminal record? Know your rights in Kansas City
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Can an employer or landlord ask about a criminal record? Know your rights in Kansas City
Nearly four years ago, Kansas City passed an ordinance banning employers and discouraging landlords from discriminating against applicants based solely on their criminal history.
The so-called “Ban the Box” ordinance was intended to remove a barrier to housing and job opportunities for formerly incarcerated people.
Today, advocates and social service providers who assist people coming home from prison say the city is failing to enforce the measure. So while landlords and employers in Kansas City aren’t supposed to ask about your criminal history, many of them still do.
What does the “Ban the Box” ordinance actually say?
You can find the full text of the 2018 ordinance here. The last three pages have the most important stuff.
For employment, the ordinance states: “It [is] unlawful for an employer to base a hiring or promotional decision on an applicant’s criminal history… [or] for an employer to inquire about an applicant’s criminal history until after it has been determined that the individual is otherwise qualified for the position.”
What that means: Employers can ask about your criminal history during the job application process, but not on the initial application. There shouldn’t be a box you need to check stating whether you’ve been convicted of a crime. Employers are also allowed to make exceptions for safety-related concerns or jobs that exclude people with certain convictions by law, such as childcare jobs.
For housing, the ordinance states: “[It] shall be unlawful… to refuse to negotiate for the rental of a dwelling based on an individual’s criminal history unless the landlord can demonstrate that the rental decision was based on all information available including consideration of the frequency, recentness and severity of a criminal record.”
What that means: If you have a criminal history, a landlord can still reject you—but not without getting your full story first and taking the context of your incarceration into account. This ordinance doesn’t explicitly ban landlords from rejecting potential tenants based on criminal history alone, but it does discourage them from doing so.
How can I report an employer or landlord for asking about my criminal record?
The director of the city’s Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity department (formerly called Human Relations) is in charge of handling complaints about discrimination at the city level. This chapter of the municipal code explains how to file a complaint. Here are a few key takeaways:
If you think you have been discriminated against, you or your lawyer must file a complaint to the department within 180 days of the incident using the form on this page.
The director of the department must start an investigation within 30 days of receiving your complaint.
If the city finds that discrimination is occurring, the department will first try to resolve the issue without legal action.
If the discriminatory practices are not resolved, “the director may refer the matter to the city counselor for possible prosecution in municipal court.”
While the city code suggests that cases involving housing be resolved within 100 days, no required time limit is given for any discrimination case. That means it could take a really long time.
Reentry advocates who assist people coming home to Kansas City from prison said that a lack of action and enforcement from the city has weakened Ban the Box by enabling employers and landlords to ask about criminal history without consequences.
How does the city enforce “Ban the Box”?
According to several local reentry advocates, it doesn’t.
“There is absolutely zero enforcement of that ordinance,” said Brittany Peterson, the lead resource specialist for Second Chance, a Kansas City nonprofit that supports people returning home from prison. “Those of us in the social service realm are fighting to provide protections so that there are fewer discriminatory practices, but… without implementation and enforcement, it doesn’t exist.”
Peterson said that a lack of city employees is to blame. But other advocates argue that the complaint process itself would provide a barrier to formerly incarcerated people even if the city had personnel to process discrimination cases.
“Say you’re being discriminated against, what’s the first thing you go do? Hire an attorney,” said Mark Byrd, director of KC Redemption, a nonprofit group that helps formerly incarcerated people rejoin society. “Well, if you’re struggling just to find a place to live and your basic needs, you don’t have money to go spend on an attorney to fight this.”
The city’s Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity department doesn’t disclose information about discrimination complaints due to confidentiality. City spokesperson Maggie Green told The Star that there are “no pending Human Rights Commission hearings scheduled” for Ban the Box related complaints.
What other resources are available for formerly incarcerated people in Kansas City?
Here’s a list of five nonprofit organizations helping formerly incarcerated people transition back into the Kansas City community. These groups have relationships with employers and landlords known to accept formerly incarcerated people.
Some government entities have implemented their own “Ban the Box” rules for government jobs. These include the Missouri state government, the Kansas state government and the Kansas City municipal government. That means you can apply for a job working for these governments or their departments without being asked about your record.
As for private employers, Peterson said her organization is working to educate local companies about fair hiring practices through the Workplace Opportunities for Returning Citizens or ‘WORC’ initiative.
“Instead of being punitive we’re trying to be proactive and engage employers in a way that is helpful,” she said. “It’s been widely successful in… creating new opportunities for the formerly incarcerated, but it doesn’t really do anything about breaking down the systemic barriers that exist around Ban the Box.”
Do you have more questions about housing, employment or how somethine else works in Kansas City? Ask our Service Journalism team at kcq@kcstar.com or fill out the form below.
This story was originally published January 19, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
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