A recent opinion from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania serves a win to a medical marijuana card-holder who brought claims against an employer under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), the Pennsylvania Medical...more
6/4/2025
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Pennsylvania ,
Plant Based Products ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Screening Procedures ,
State Labor Laws
In 2018, Washington enacted a Fair Chance Act, requiring covered employers to wait until after considering an applicant to be “otherwise qualified” for the position at issue to inquire about or consider criminal history when...more
5/6/2025
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employee Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Responsibilities ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Notice Requirements ,
State Labor Laws ,
Washington
Seyfarth Synopsis: Since 2018, California has had a comprehensive Fair Chance Act (CFCA), which places a number of restrictions on employers using criminal history for hiring and other employment purposes. San Francisco and...more
10/15/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
California ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance
Seyfarth Synopsis: Each year, employers revisit and possibly modify their background screening policies and practices to account for newly enacted ban-the-box and other laws impacting background screening. Last year, we saw...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 16, 2021, Louisiana joined the growing list of states and localities with so-called “Fair Chance” laws by enacting its own law restricting an employer’s consideration of criminal history in hiring...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 18, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a portion of the Waterloo, Iowa ban-the-box law’s restrictions on “when” employers can inquire about criminal history, but struck down restrictions on “what”...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 15, 2020, Hawaii Governor David Y. Ige signed Senate Bill 051, which narrows the scope of convictions that employers can use for hiring and other employment-related decisions. The new law is...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As the number of class actions alleging FCRA violations continues to skyrocket, it is critical for California employers to understand the basics of all laws affecting employment screening programs. This...more
8/21/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On April 27, 2020, the Suffolk County Legislature filed with the Secretary of State an amendment to the county’s Human Rights Code to include a new “Fair Employment Screening” section. ...more
5/28/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Regulations ,
State and Local Government
Seyfarth Synopsis: Waterloo, Iowa has enacted the state’s first “Ban the Box” Ordinance.
UPDATE #2: On April 3, 2020, the lawsuit brought by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (the “Association”) against the...more
4/10/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 30, 2020, the Maryland General Assembly voted to override Governor Larry Hogan’s May 2019 veto of the Act Concerning Record Screening Practices (Ban the Box) (the “Act”). As a result, effective...more
2/7/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
General Assembly ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: St. Louis has become the third locality in Missouri to enact a “Ban the Box” law, joining Kansas City and Columbia. With a January 1, 2021 effective date, covered employers should begin taking steps to...more
2/4/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 17, 2019, Congress passed "The Fair Chance To Compete for Jobs Act of 2019" (the “Act”) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. ...more
1/28/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Defense Contracts ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements
Seyfarth Synopsis: The San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (the “FCO”), which was amended as of October 1, 2018, has long required that covered employers provide employees with the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement’s...more
1/24/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: Waterloo, Iowa has enacted the state’s first “Ban the Box” Ordinance.
UPDATE: The Iowa Association of Business and Industry has filed a lawsuit against the City of Waterloo and the Waterloo Commission on...more
1/24/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Covered Employer ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Multistate Corporations ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
Seyfarth Synopsis: After six years of litigation, on November 18, 2019, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced a multimillion-dollar settlement with a national employer, which resolved litigation that...more
12/10/2019
/ Ban the Box ,
Class Action ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Consent Decrees ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Minorities ,
Screening Procedures ,
Settlement Agreements
Seyfarth Synopsis: Waterloo, Iowa has enacted the state’s first “Ban the Box” Ordinance....more
11/27/2019
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: California’s ban-the-box law strictly regulates how employers may obtain and consider background check information when hiring and making personnel decisions. What’s more, Los Angeles and San Francisco have...more
10/31/2019
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notification Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Colorado Governor has just signed a new law prohibiting employers from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history on an initial employment application....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New Mexico has enacted new legislation which will bring the growing “Ban the Box” to private employers within the state this summer....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Effective October 13, 2018, Massachusetts employers will no longer be permitted to inquire about certain misdemeanor convictions and sealed or expunged records for employment purposes. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: California is rife with regulation of how employers may obtain and consider background check information for use in hiring and personnel decisions. ...more
4/26/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Credit Reports ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently signed a bill that will prohibit counties and cities from enacting “ban-the-box” ordinances or other restrictions on the ability of private employers to inquire about...more
4/26/2018
/ Amended Legislation ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Private Sector ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Washington Governor has just signed a new law prohibiting employers from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history before the applicant is deemed “otherwise qualified” for the position sought. ...more
3/14/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Spokane City Council recently approved a “ban-the-box” ordinance, which, if it becomes law, will prohibit employers from requesting and considering criminal history until after an interview. The Mayor...more