background checks

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

State Ban-the-Box Laws Each year employers must navigate an ever-growing field of labor and employment-related laws to ensure compliance. In recent years, the presence of statewide “ban-the-box” legislation has grown significantly. These “fair chance” laws provide applicants a fair chance at being considered for a job by prohibiting questions about the applicant’s conviction history on Read more

Yesterday, October 27, 2015, the Fair Chance Act went into effect in New York City. Under the new law, employers cannot ask a job applicant about his or her criminal history or request to authorize a background check, until after the job position is offered. Employers cannot express any employment limitation based on an individual’s Read more

Effective July 1, 2015, Vermont will become the latest state to prohibit an employer from requesting or requiring an employee or applicant to disclose their social media account information. Research indicates that more than 77 percent of companies use social media to research and recruit job candidates. Information gained from social networking websites is also Read more

The city of Columbia is the first city in Missouri to pass the “ban the box” ordinance. The ordinance that took effect December 1st was designed to make it easier for people with prior criminal backgrounds to compete in the job market. Employers in Columbia are now prohibited from asking applicants about criminal histories or Read more