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
10/15/2024
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
California ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Ads ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Reform ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance
For many years, California employers have been subject to the state’s Fair Chance Act, which (in a nutshell) requires employers to...more
8/23/2023
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Background Checks ,
California ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employees ,
Fair Chance Act ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Seyfarth Synopsis: Each year, employers revisit and possibly modify their background screening policies and practices to account for newly enacted ban-the-box and other laws impacting background screening. Last year, we saw...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 16, 2021, Louisiana joined the growing list of states and localities with so-called “Fair Chance” laws by enacting its own law restricting an employer’s consideration of criminal history in hiring...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 18, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld a portion of the Waterloo, Iowa ban-the-box law’s restrictions on “when” employers can inquire about criminal history, but struck down restrictions on “what”...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Illinois currently has a ban-the-box law restricting employers from asking about criminal history generally until after an interview and the state’s Human Rights Act makes it unlawful for an employer to...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On September 15, 2020, Hawaii Governor David Y. Ige signed Senate Bill 051, which narrows the scope of convictions that employers can use for hiring and other employment-related decisions. The new law is...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: As the number of class actions alleging FCRA violations continues to skyrocket, it is critical for California employers to understand the basics of all laws affecting employment screening programs. This...more
8/21/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
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: In recent years, federal courts have weighed in on the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (FCRA) requirement that consumer report disclosures be in a standalone document consisting solely of the disclosure. ...more
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
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: On December 17, 2019, Congress passed "The Fair Chance To Compete for Jobs Act of 2019" (the “Act”) as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. ...more
1/28/2020
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Defense Contracts ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Contractors ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Regulatory Requirements
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: Waterloo, Iowa has enacted the state’s first “Ban the Box” Ordinance....more
11/27/2019
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Local Ordinance ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: California’s ban-the-box law strictly regulates how employers may obtain and consider background check information when hiring and making personnel decisions. What’s more, Los Angeles and San Francisco have...more
10/31/2019
/ Background Checks ,
Ban the Box ,
Conditional Job Offers ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Criminal Records ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Job Applicants ,
Labor Regulations ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notification Requirements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Seyfarth Synopsis: After several years of litigation, in Connor v. First Student, Inc. the California Supreme Court decided that the California Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (“ICRAA”) was not...more
8/28/2018
/ Appeals ,
Background Checks ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) ,
Credit Reports ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) ,
Reversal ,
State Labor Laws ,
Summary Judgment ,
Vagueness
Seyfarth Synopsis: In deciding to deny certiorari to review Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, No. 17-806 (U.S. 2017), the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to reconsider the standing principles it announced in its landmark 2016 Spokeo...more
1/24/2018
/ Article III ,
Background Checks ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Petition for Writ of Certiorari ,
SCOTUS ,
Screening Procedures ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Legislature has just created yet another protected class of individuals entitled to sue employers under the Fair Employment and Housing Act....more