The Board of Commissioners in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, has passed the Lehigh County Human Relations Ordinance to ensure equal opportunities for all individuals concerning employment, housing, education, healthcare, and...more
Beginning December 20, 2021, federal contractors must comply with the federal Fair Chance Act (FCA), which prohibits contractors from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal background in certain cases in the initial...more
Changes to Philadelphia law will further restrict employers’ use and reliance on applicant, current employee, and independent contractor background information and affect the employee application and employee management...more
Following Mayor Bill de Blasio’s non-action on the bill passed by the New York City Council in December expanding the scope of New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA), the amendments have become law. The amendments, which go...more
The New York City Council passed a bill expanding the scope of New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA). The bill significantly extends employment protections for applicants and employees with criminal charges or arrests. New...more
Maryland’s Montgomery County has enacted an amendment to the county’s ban-the-box legislation that increases restrictions on employers during the hiring process. The Amendment will take effect on February 19, 2021...more
As New York State reportedly is releasing additional nonviolent offenders, coinciding with the rise of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, and newly released individuals apply for positions, New York employers should remember...more
The Suffolk County, New York, Legislature has passed the “Fair Employment Screening Amendment” to the Suffolk County Code, prohibiting the County or any other employer having at least 15 employees from asking job applicants...more
The City of St. Louis Board of Alderman unanimously passed “ban the box” legislation prohibiting employers in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, from basing job hiring or promotion decisions on applicants’ criminal histories....more
Maryland has joined a growing number of jurisdictions by enacting a “ban-the-box” law prohibiting employers from asking job applicants about their criminal history on the initial job application. The new Maryland law, the...more
In an effort to prevent persons with criminal records from being automatically ruled out for job vacancies, Colorado Governor Jared Polis has signed “ban the box” legislation. The new law will go into effect in September 2019...more
New Mexico is the latest state to adopt statewide legislation prohibiting private employers from making inquiries into an applicant’s criminal history on the initial employment application. The state also enacted legislation...more
Effective March 4, 2019, private employers in New York’s Westchester County will be restricted from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal background during the preliminary stages of the application process.
Employers...more
A provision in the Massachusetts criminal justice reform law signed by Governor Charlie Baker amends the state’s restrictions on the questions employers may ask a job applicant regarding the applicant’s criminal history...more
Effective June 6, 2018, Washington will be the next state to implement “ban the box” legislation restricting employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal background during the initial stages of the application...more
State and local jurisdictions have continued to consider and enact legislation restricting employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal background during the initial stages of the application process. Two of the...more
New Jersey has amended its “ban-the-box” law to prohibit inquiries into a job applicant’s expunged criminal record during the initial employment application process.
The New Jersey Opportunity to Compete Act (commonly...more
Effective January 1, 2018, California will be the next jurisdiction to implement statewide “ban the box” legislation. On October 14, 2017, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 1008, which prohibits pre-offer...more
10/17/2017
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance
California may be the next jurisdiction to implement statewide “ban the box” legislation. Assembly Bill 1008 made its way from the Assembly through the Senate, and now awaits action from Governor Jerry Brown....more
Although New York City’s “ban the box” law, the Fair Chance Act (“FCA”), went into effect close to two years ago, the New York City Commission on Human Rights’ final regulations became effective on August 5, 2017. These...more
Vermont’s Ban the Box law became effective on July 1, 2017, more than a year after Governor Peter Shumlin signed H. 261.
The law prohibits an employer from requesting “criminal history record information,” including...more
The Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (“FCIHO”) went into effect on January 22, 2017. The Bureau of Contract Administration (BCA), the Designated Administrative Agency responsible for enforcing the...more
Connecticut is the most recent state in the nation to implement statewide legislation prohibiting employers from making inquiries into an applicant’s criminal history at the onset of the employment process, except under...more
Los Angeles is the latest in a growing list of jurisdictions to adopt an ordinance restricting employers from asking a job applicant about his or her criminal history during the application process. Under the Ordinance,...more
The City of Portland has issued administrative rules to the “Removing Barriers to Employment,” its ordinance aimed at removing job barriers for individuals with criminal records (Chapter 23.10 of the Portland Municipal Code)....more