On April 27, 2020, the Suffolk County Legislature filed with the Secretary of State an amendment to the county’s Human Rights Code to include a new “Fair Employment Screening” section. ...more
5/28/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Regulations ,
State and Local Government
Seyfarth Synopsis: On March 20, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (“FCRA”) standalone disclosure requirement does not allow for the inclusion of any extraneous information in an...more
4/11/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Credit History ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Application ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Job Offers ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: Waterloo, Iowa has enacted the state’s first “Ban the Box” Ordinance.
UPDATE #2: On April 3, 2020, the lawsuit brought by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry (the “Association”) against the...more
4/10/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On January 21, 2020, the Oakland City Council unanimously passed the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance (“FCHO”), which will restrict landlords in their ability to reject a potential tenant because of prior criminal history. It...more
2/11/2020
/ Adverse Action ,
City Councils ,
Class Action ,
Conditional Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Discrimination ,
Drug Distribution ,
Housing Market ,
Landlords ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Rental Applications ,
Rental Property ,
Risk Management ,
Sex Offenders ,
State and Local Government ,
Tenants
Seyfarth Synopsis: On January 30, 2020, the Maryland General Assembly voted to override Governor Larry Hogan’s May 2019 veto of the Act Concerning Record Screening Practices (Ban the Box) (the “Act”). As a result, effective...more
2/7/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
General Assembly ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: St. Louis has become the third locality in Missouri to enact a “Ban the Box” law, joining Kansas City and Columbia. With a January 1, 2021 effective date, covered employers should begin taking steps to...more
2/4/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Penalties ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
Seyfarth Synopsis: The San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance (the “FCO”), which was amended as of October 1, 2018, has long required that covered employers provide employees with the Office of Labor Standards Enforcement’s...more
1/24/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
San Francisco ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: Waterloo, Iowa has enacted the state’s first “Ban the Box” Ordinance.
UPDATE: The Iowa Association of Business and Industry has filed a lawsuit against the City of Waterloo and the Waterloo Commission on...more
1/24/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Covered Employer ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Multistate Corporations ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
Seyfarth Synopsis: On December 3, 2019, the Appellate Court of Illinois affirmed summary judgment in favor of a public utility company that considered credit checks for individuals applying for a customer service...more
1/14/2020
/ Appeals ,
Confidential Information ,
Credit Checks ,
Employee Privacy Rights ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Right to Privacy ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Summary Judgment
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Steve Benjamin has signed a new law prohibiting City employers - but NOT private employers - from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history until receipt of a...more
11/1/2019
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Public Employees ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Steve Benjamin has signed a new law prohibiting employers – including private employers – from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history until receipt of a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Colorado Governor has just signed a new law prohibiting employers from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history on an initial employment application....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: New Mexico has enacted new legislation which will bring the growing “Ban the Box” to private employers within the state this summer....more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently signed a bill that will prohibit counties and cities from enacting “ban-the-box” ordinances or other restrictions on the ability of private employers to inquire about...more
4/26/2018
/ Amended Legislation ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Private Sector ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 3, 2018, San Francisco amended its Fair Chance Ordinance to align, in some respects, with California’s new ban-the-box law. San Francisco employers with more than five employees still must be...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Washington Governor has just signed a new law prohibiting employers from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history before the applicant is deemed “otherwise qualified” for the position sought. ...more
3/14/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: The Spokane City Council recently approved a “ban-the-box” ordinance, which, if it becomes law, will prohibit employers from requesting and considering criminal history until after an interview. The Mayor...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Philadelphia is positioning to be the next jurisdiction to prohibit employers from inquiring into jobapplicants’ wage history during the employment application process....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
12/23/2016
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Local Ordinance ,
Municipalities ,
Pending Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
Uniformity