The use of credit information, including credit history, as a screening tool by employers is common. A 2012 SHRM study found that nearly half of all employers check job applicants’ credit history as part of the hiring process. Employer credit checks are also the reason many job seekers remain unemployed. A 2012 Demos study found Read more
Criminal History Assessment Last January, employers in Los Angeles, CA, were required to post a new notice in the workplace informing employees of the City’s recent “ban the box” law. The “ban the box” law refers to the City’s Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance which prohibits employers with 10 or more employees from asking Read more
Coming three years after their decision to ban the box, the District of Columbia has approved another anti-discrimination measure intended to increase employment opportunities for those in need of a second chance. On February 15, 2017, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signed the Fair Credit in Employment Act prohibiting employers from discriminating against applicants and employees Read more
Nationwide, “ban the box” laws are being adopted with increasing frequency. Broadly speaking, these laws prohibit employers from considering an applicant’s or employee’s criminal history in making employment decisions until a certain point in the hiring or deliberation process. Currently, 25 states, the District of Columbia, and many metropolitan areas have adopted ban-the-box type laws. Read more
The City of Los Angeles is joining a growing list of cities and states to “ban the box” by removing questions about job applicants’ criminal histories from job applications. The recently adopted “Fair Chance Initiative” (the “Ordinance”) will prohibit Los Angeles employers from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history or from performing any form of Read more
Starting January 1, 2017, Connecticut employers will be prohibited from asking about an applicant’s prior arrests, criminal charges or convictions on an initial employment application. An employer is defined as “any person engaged in business who has one or more employees, including the state or any political subdivision of the state.” Under the enacted H.B. Read more
On March 17, 2016, the state of Tennessee passed its own version of Ban the Box Law. Under the enacted bill (TN S 2103), which became effective April 12, 2016, public employers are prohibited from asking job applicants about their criminal history during the initial employment hiring process. Employers may ask questions or request information Read more
On April 11, 2016, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed Executive Order 16-04 to implement a ban the box hiring policy for government entities. As defined in the Order, ban the box is a “policy which places questions relating to an individual’s criminal history later in the hiring process in order to provide applicants an opportunity Read more
California’s Fair Employment and Housing Council has issued proposed regulations on the use of criminal history information in making employment decisions and is giving the interested public until April 7, 2016 to give their feedback. Presently, California law (Labor Code §§432.7, 432.8) prohibits an employer from asking about or considering the following types of criminal Read more
Philadelphia’s Fair Criminal Records Screening Standards Ordinance also known as Ban the Box law was first enacted in July, 2011. Under the law, employers with 10 or more employees are prohibited from inquiring about criminal convictions during the employment application process and in the first interview. Employers are prohibited from making personnel decisions based on Read more
