Background Check Adjudication & Fair Chance Hiring of Individuals with Criminal Records

Last registered on March 30, 2023
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Background Check Adjudication & Fair Chance Hiring of Individuals with Criminal Records
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0010917
Initial registration date
March 29, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
March 30, 2023, 4:06 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region

Primary Investigator

Name
Emma Rackstraw
Affiliation
Harvard University
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Amanda Agan
PI Affiliation
Rutgers University
Contact Investigator
PI Name
David Autor
PI Affiliation
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2023-03-16
End date
2024-03-15
Keywords
Behavior, Crime, Violence, & Conflict, Firms & Productivity, Labor
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Criminal histories used for employment screening serve as a barrier to employment for a large fraction of males, minorities, and workers without college degrees. To enable "fair chance" hiring, employers may filter which criminal background data are visible to hiring adjudicators, potentially suppressing minor or older charges and convictions. Theory and existing evidence point to potentially ambiguous effects of information suppression on hiring of workers with criminal histories, however, since decision-makers may compensate for the absence of information by using group characteristics to infer it. We have partnered with a background check company and one of their client firms to study the effects of policies that alter the set of criminal records available to adjudicators both on the hiring process and performance among those who pass the background check process.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Agan, Amanda, David Autor and Emma Rackstraw. 2023. "Background Check Adjudication & Fair Chance Hiring of Individuals with Criminal Records." AEA RCT Registry. March 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.10917-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-05-01
Intervention End Date
2023-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
adverse action notice issued, ratings, incidents
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The firm will test an experimental matrix that reduces what their adjudicators see in the background check about relatively minor charges. Applicants with visible criminal records that are eligible for the study will be randomized to either the status quo matrix and or to the experimental matrix.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
randomization done by a computer
Randomization Unit
individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
N/A
Sample size: planned number of observations
6,000
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
3,000 status quo, 3,000 experimental
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
MIT Committee on the Use of Humans as Experimental Subjects
IRB Approval Date
2023-03-16
IRB Approval Number
2302000885
Analysis Plan

Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials