In 2016, the City of Los Angeles enacted a detailed fair chance hiring ordinance. A comprehensive statewide law followed in 2017. Soon, employers with jobs located in the unincorporated areas of the County of Los...more
3/13/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Ban the Box ,
California ,
City of Los Angeles ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Screening Procedures ,
Undue Burden
The California Civil Rights Council previously issued draft revisions to the Fair Employment and Housing Act’s regulations governing inquiries into and consideration of a job applicant’s criminal history in making hiring...more
8/2/2023
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
California ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
State Labor Laws
For nearly a decade, Chicago has maintained a “ban-the-box” ordinance restricting employer’s use of criminal records in employment screening. This ordinance largely mirrored the requirements of Illinois’ state-wide Job...more
5/11/2023
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
City of Chicago ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Illinois ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Local Ordinance ,
New Regulations ,
Screening Procedures
Existing California law regulates inquiries into and the use of criminal history information in hiring and personnel decisions. Existing California law also substantially impedes the ability of employers (and background...more
3/27/2023
/ Ban the Box ,
California ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Pending Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws
The continued filing of lawsuits against employers under the FCRA underscores the need for in-house counsel, Human Resources, and Talent Acquisition to comply with the statute, especially the “pre-adverse action” notice...more
Employers that rely on criminal background checks to vet candidates know all too well that they must comply with a legion of statutes, ordinances, and regulations. On December 15, 2022, the Civil Rights Council (“Council”)...more
1/6/2023
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Draft Guidance ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that governs employment-related background checks. Most lawsuits asserting federal claims proceed in federal court. The FCRA is atypical in that FCRA claims can proceed...more
4/21/2022
/ Appeals ,
Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Barnes and Noble ,
Class Action ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Reversal ,
Statutory Violations ,
Summary Judgment ,
Willful Violations
Companies that hire employees and engage independent contractors in California should brace for a significant slowdown in background checks that include criminal record searches in California state courts....more
9/8/2021
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State Labor Laws
On July 15, 2021, the New York City Commission on Human Rights (the “NYCCHR” or “Commission”) issued its highly anticipated updated Legal Enforcement Guidance on the Fair Chance Act and Employment Discrimination. ...more
7/20/2021
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Regulatory Requirements
Last month, the new chair of the EEOC, Charlotte A. Burrows, was the keynote speaker at a conference regarding new research on criminal recidivism....more
7/7/2021
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants
Employers with operations in California should be vigilant about compliance with the protections against criminal record discrimination in the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA). The FEHA prohibits employers...more
3/8/2021
/ Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
DFEH ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
For years, Philadelphia has maintained ordinances substantially restricting employers’ use of criminal record and credit histories in employment screening. These regulations are in addition to, not in lieu of, the federal...more
1/27/2021
/ Ban the Box ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
Screening Procedures
The California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), as amended in 2018, restricts a covered employer’s ability to make hiring decisions based on an individual’s criminal history, including but not limited to court records...more
10/8/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
FEHA ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Hawaii has long had a law limiting the discretion that employers have to consider older conviction records in making employment decisions. Effective September 15, 2020, SB 2193 prevents most private sector employers from...more
9/17/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On March 20, 2020, the Ninth Circuit issued its third opinion on the question of when an employer’s background check disclosure satisfies the so-called “standalone” disclosure requirement in the Fair Credit Reporting Act...more
With the start of a new year—and a new decade—employers in San Francisco, California, Waterloo, Iowa, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, must follow new “ban-the-box” laws restricting their use of criminal records in hiring and...more
2/13/2020
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
On December 20, 2020, the president signed legislation, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020, which includes the federal Fair Chance Act (“the Act”). The Act prohibits federal contractors that...more
12/27/2019
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
New Legislation
Employers should continue to exercise caution and care in drafting their criminal record screening policies. A recent settlement by Dollar General underscores this point, even though it comes on the heels of the Fifth...more
11/4/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Ban the Box ,
Bias ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Class Action ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Dollar General ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Multistate Corporations ,
Retailers ,
Settlement ,
Title VII
On August 6, 2019, in Texas v. EEOC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit dealt the EEOC a significant setback, largely affirming the district court’s decision that the EEOC violated the federal Administrative...more
8/7/2019
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Ban the Box ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Disparate Impact ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injunctions ,
Job Applicants ,
Summary Judgment ,
Title VII
Employers that use criminal record-screening policies must continue to be vigilant about compliance with all applicable laws and should know that the EEOC’s scrutiny of such policies, while perhaps scaled back, has not ended....more
10/2/2018
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Screening Procedures ,
Title VII
Employers that use criminal record screening policies must continue to be vigilant about compliance with all applicable laws. Following a multi-million dollar settlement by a leading retailer earlier this year, a recent...more
9/17/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
Class Action ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Multi-Jurisdictional Litigation ,
Screening Procedures ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Statutory Violations
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) class action lawsuits against employers are reaching epidemic proportions as class-wide settlements encourage more lawyers to move into this niche practice area....more
Nationwide class action claims against employers under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) are more common now than ever before. On July 13, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion,...more
7/19/2018
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Banking Sector ,
Class Action ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Screening Procedures ,
Standing ,
State Farm
In 2010, Massachusetts enacted the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Reform Act, which includes a “ban-the-box” component. Among other things, the law prohibits an employer from requiring an applicant to check a...more
Employers that use criminal record screening policies must continue to be vigilant about compliance with all applicable laws. A recent settlement by one of the nation’s leading retailers, Target, reinforces this point. The...more
4/9/2018
/ Ban the Box ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Class Action ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Race Discrimination ,
Retailers ,
Screening Procedures ,
Target ,
Title VII