US President Barack Obama announced Monday that he has instructed the Office of Personal Management (OPM) [official website] to remove inquiries about criminal records [fact sheet] from federal employment applications. Obama made the announcement [remarks] during a speech at Rutgers University Center for Law and Justice as part of his continued efforts toward criminal justice reform. Monday’s announcement means that the president has officially adopted the “ban the box” [advocacy website] social policy platform, which discourages companies from compelling applicants to reveal their nonviolent criminal histories. Multiple states [advocacy website] have previously adopted this initiative with the hopes of lowering the unemployment and underemployment of the previously incarcerated. Obama said:

Around 70 million Americans have some sort of criminal record—70 million. That’s almost one in five of us. Almost one in three Americans of working age. Now, a lot of time, that record disqualifies you from being a full participant in our society—even if you’ve already paid your debt to society. It means millions of Americans have difficulty even getting their foot in the door to try to get a job much less actually hang on to that job. That’s bad for not only those individuals, it’s bad for our economy. It’s bad for the communities that desperately need more role models who are gainfully employed. So we’ve got to make sure Americans who’ve paid their debt to society can earn their second chance.

The president also announced grants to help communities provide resources to the ex-incarcerated to provide education, job training and child care resources. In addition the president asked congress to pass current criminal justice reform bills [USA Today report] that would not only “ban the box,” but also eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders.

The president has ramped up his criminal justice reform efforts as the national discussion of police interactions in minority communities has spurred a movement for change [JURIST report] within the justice system. Last month US Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates voiced the Obama’s administration’s support [JURIST report] for the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 [S 2123], which would reduce the prison sentences of some nonviolent drug offenders. In July Obama spoke at the NAACP Annual Convention and urged [JURIST report] congress to reform the criminal justice system by enacting legislation that would enforce criminal laws fairly and reduce sentencing disparities. Earlier that same week Obama commuted the sentences [JURIST report] of 46 drug offenders in what he said was part of an effort by his administration to remedy the unfairness of the criminal justice system.