How to Conduct Criminal Background Checks the Right Way
In 2018, Washington enacted a Fair Chance Act, requiring covered employers to wait until after considering an applicant to be “otherwise qualified” for the position at issue to inquire about or consider criminal history when...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Since 2018, California has had a comprehensive Fair Chance Act (CFCA), which places a number of restrictions on employers using criminal history for hiring and other employment purposes. San Francisco and...more
Since California’s enactment of the Fair Chance Act (“Act”) over six years ago, California’s private and county employers with five or more employees have become well-acquainted with the Act’s general prohibition of employers...more
Effective January 1, 2022, Phila. Code § 9-5500 now prohibits Philadelphia employers from requiring job applicants to submit to pre-employment drug tests for marijuana use. Specifically, the ordinance makes it an unlawful...more
On September 15, 2021, the Ninth Circuit, in a 2-1 split decision, partially upheld a California law passed in 2019 governing the use of mandatory arbitration agreements by employers in California. The state law, AB 51...more
Per recent federal employment law guidance, private employers can generally require employees to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as long as they comply with federal employment laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of...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
On April 9, 2019, the New York City Council passed a bill that prohibits employers from conducting pre-employment drug testing for the presence of marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinols (THC). ...more
On April 9, 2019, the New York City Council passed a first-of-its-kind bill that prohibits pre-employment drug testing for the presence of marijuana or tetrahydrocannabinols. ...more
A Connecticut federal district court has found an employer liable for discrimination for failing to hire a medical marijuana user based on a drug test....more
Effective July 1, 2017, new regulations from the California Fair Employment and Housing Council will further limit an employer’s ability to consider the criminal history of a job applicant or employee when making employment...more
Portland, Oregon’s ban-the-box law, the Removing Barriers to Employment Ordinance, took effect on July 1, 2016. The ordinance prohibits most Portland employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal history or conducting a...more
Austin, Texas recently became the latest city to “ban the box” for private employers. Under the new law, Austin employers with 15 or more employees may not require an applicant to disclose his or her criminal history prior...more
On March 24, 2016, the Austin City Council passed a “ban-the-box” ordinance, the Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance, which took effect on April 4, 2016. The final version of the ordinance was released on April 12, 2016. It...more
On March 24, 2016, the Austin City Council passed an ordinance that will significantly restrict many employers from making employment decisions about applicants or employees based on their criminal histories. The Fair Chance...more
Given the imminent effective date of New York City’s Fair Chance Act, employers may be wondering what they need to do to comply with the law. As many employers are aware, effective October 27, 2015, the Fair Chance Act...more
Company Openly Stated in Termination Letter That It Fired Employee Due to'Medical Problems' After Learning of Her Diabetes, Federal Agency Charges NEW ORLEANS -- Baker Wellness Center, Inc., a Baton Rouge, La., area adult day...more