Like a credit score, but for employment

An evidence-based score to identify good candidates with conviction records

Logo of Bushway Opportunity Score with a green 'B' icon and black text.

Your hiring manager finds a good candidate. But the background check reveals a conviction record. The Bushway Opportunity Score uses science to quickly and fairly identify people who are ready to work.

This approach, developed by Dr. Shawn Bushway, has already been used in EEOC-approved settlements by large US companies. The scale replaces cumbersome matrices and minimizes the need for costly individualized assessments.

Smiling man with a beard sitting in the driver's seat of a truck, wearing a navy blue cap backward, a dark blue t-shirt, and a seatbelt. The truck's interior and a blurred outdoor background are visible.

30% of U.S. men have been convicted of a crime

Most Never Reoffend

Dr. Bushway has done the research cited by the EEOC to to identify those people with records who should be given an opportunity to work. He has worked with employers to reduce bias, improve accuracy and reduce the time needed to make a decision.

The Bushway Opportunity Score uses science to quickly and fairly identify people who are ready to work.

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FAQs

  • The BOS helps employers identify candidates who pose little offending risk. Background checks that use the BOS are faster, fairer and more accurate - and they meet EEOC guidelines.

  • The BOS considers factors like age, time since last offense, number of prior convictions, and the types of crime committed in the past.

  • The scale-based approach used in the BOS has been used by Dr. Bushway in his work as a settlement consultant in 2 cases brought by the EEOC. The BOS is regularly updated to reflect the best available science.

  • We do not collect, store, or furnish consumer reports and are therefore not a Credit Reporting Agency (CRA) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). We are a data science firm that develops and licenses a proprietary, predictive scoring model as intellectual property. Our licensed partners—employers, CRAs and intermediaries—are responsible for calculating the score using the criminal history record generated as part of their own FCRA-compliant background screening process. Our job is to provide employers with information that can help improve their decisions and allow more people with records to work.

Our Mission

Is to make the Bushway Opportunity Score widely available to all employers who are looking for a faster, fairer method to identify good workers.

Our Vision

Is for a world where every person with the will to work has a clear path to employment. We believe the positive outcomes associated with employer use of the Bushway Opportunity Score will lead to a positive ripple effect through the lives of people with conviction records, their families and their communities.