If state-by-state efforts to “ban the box” on job applications have gotten the employment bar's attention, President Obama's Nov. 2 remarks from one of New Jersey's law schools surely will resound.

The Newark campus of Rutgers School of Law provided the backdrop for the president's continued push for criminal justice reform, which is centered on finding ways to reintegrate former inmates into society more smoothly.

Among the president's proposals was a federal “ban-the-box” measure, which would restrict federal agencies and contractors from asking job applicants about their criminal histories—a goal he vowed to accomplish by executive order if legislation fails.