The Risks in Background Checks
AGG Talks: Background Screening - Ban the Box and Fair Chance Hiring Laws: The Year in Review
#WorkforceWednesday: COVID-19 Restrictions Tighten, NYC Fair Chance Act, Biden's Budget - Employment Law This Week®
Employment Law Now III-50 - A 50th Birthday Celebration Episode
In the fall of 2019, the Waterloo, Iowa City Council approved the state’s first “Ban the Box” ordinance. Generally speaking, that ordinance made it illegal for any employer to ask about an applicant’s criminal history on a...more
On December 10, 2020, the New York City Council amended New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA), also known as the “ban the box” law. The recently enacted amendments will take effect on July 29, 2021....more
Westchester County, New York, which is located on the outskirts of the New York City metropolitan area, has enacted a ban-the-box law that places limits on an employer’s ability to make preemployment inquiries into and...more
Effective March 4, 2019, Westchester County will become the fourth local jurisdiction in New York State to “ban the box”—i.e., prohibit employers from including questions about applicants’ criminal convictions or arrests on...more
On March 26, 2018, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill that prohibits local governments from regulating the information employers can request from prospective employees during the interview process. ...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Indiana Senate Bill 312 (the “Bill”) provides, among other things, that a political subdivision of the state, including a municipality, may not prohibit an employer from obtaining or using criminal history...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Legislature of the State of Texas has introduced a new bill designed to create uniformity within its borders by prohibiting municipalities and counties from micro-managing the particular steps involved...more
The Portland City Council passed its own version of a “Ban The Box” law right before the Thanksgiving holiday, which will require most businesses operating in the city to adjust their hiring practices. Under the strict new...more
Last Thursday, Tampa’s City Council declined to pass a law that would have “banned the box” for city contractors. “Ban the box” refers to a movement at the state and local levels of government to remove the check box from job...more
The Common Council of Madison, Wisconsin passed a resolution that prohibits the city (i) from asking questions concerning an applicant’s criminal history on the city’s initial employment applications (i.e., “banning the...more
The Mayor of San Francisco recently signed an ordinance that prohibits private employers and city contractors and subcontractors (collectively "contractors") from asking job applicants about their criminal histories until...more
On June 20, 2013, the Mayor of Seattle signed an ordinance to "ban the box" and otherwise restrict the use of arrest and conviction records in the hiring and personnel decisions of most private employers and of the City...more
On June 10, 2013, a new ordinance took effect in the City of Buffalo prohibiting public and private employers and City vendors from asking prospective employees about their criminal conviction history during the application...more