Unintended Consequences: Protective State Policies and the Employment of Fathers with Criminal Records

Criminal records contribute to worse employment outcomes, an association with serious implications for the collateral consequences of criminal justice involvement for families. To address these employment challenges, many states have adopted policies to regulate the use of criminal records during the hiring and licensing processes. Recent studies have questioned whether such policies exacerbate statistical discrimination. Using panel data from the Fragile Families study merged with longitudinal data on state-level policies protecting the employment of individuals with records, this study investigates the association between protective state policies and the employment of fathers both with and without criminal records. Findings indicate that state policies regulating the use of records are negatively associated with the employment of fathers with records. Consistent with statistical discrimination, this negative association is particularly strong for black fathers both with and without criminal records. Instead of mitigating inequality, these policies appear to exacerbate the mark of criminal records.