California just wrapped another busy legislative year passing more than a dozen new laws that will affect workers and employers. Today’s blog looks at two of these laws, both of which are aimed at removing barriers to employment – AB 1008 concerning an applicant’s criminal history and AB 168 concerning an applicant’s salary history. Overcoming 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
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
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
Removing barriers to employment for people with criminal records has been a topic highly debated and actively legislated. Twelve states and over 60 cities and counties currently embrace “Banning the Box”, which removes one question from hiring-related forms – the query about past criminal history. Back in 1998 Hawaii got the movement started by being Read more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have just released two short guides on employment background checks: Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know, and Background Checks: What Job Applicants and Employees Should Know [PDF]. The publication for employers covers various procedures and laws that might apply when performing background Read more
Beginning Nov. 1, 2013, the City of Seattle will limit employers’ ability to use criminal history information in hiring and employment decisions. Key provisions of a new ordinance (No. 124201) include: Initial screening: During the initial screening process, employers cannot perform a criminal background check or ask about an applicant’s criminal history, even on a Read more
