On April 13, 2011, the Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signed an ordinance titled "Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards," which establishes requirements for the screening of criminal records by certain employers within the City of Philadelphia and limits an employer's ability to consider arrests and convictions of job applicants. The stated purpose of the legislation is to "give the individual with a criminal record an opportunity to be judged on his or her own merit during the submission of the application and at least until the completion of an interview." This local ordinance is not the first of its kind, but is indicative of a growing trend toward limitations on employers' abilities to consider arrests and convictions of applicants.

The Philadelphia ordinance limits the ability of an employer to consider even criminal convictions as part of the early stages of the application process. The ordinance makes it unlawful for city agencies and private employers of 10 or more people in the City of Philadelphia to...

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