The Governor of California signed into law the new legislation regarding ban-the-box. The bill bans government employers from asking job applicants about their criminal history until later in the hiring process.  Minnesota just recently expanded its existing law regarding the use of criminal background checks in the employment screening process into law to now also cover private employers like Minneapolis based Target Corporation.  In light of this new law Target announced that they will remove questions about criminal history from job applications all over the country.  Additionally New Jersey is looking into enacting similar legislation but has been confronted with opposition from the State Chamber of Commerce.  One thing is clear the ban-the-box initiative isn’t going away, on the contrary is has gained significant momentum and looks to be on the current agenda for more US States.  To read more about this subject read recent press release found at: http://www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com/news/2013-11-15-Ban-The-Box-Comes-to-California.html