The Risks in Background Checks
Current Trends in FCRA Litigation - The Consumer Finance Podcast
AGG Talks: Background Screening - Ban the Box and Fair Chance Hiring Laws: The Year in Review
AGG Talks: Background Screening - Redaction of Identifiers by the Courts Update, Breaking News from California
AGG Talks: Background Screening - Redaction of Identifiers by the Courts in Michigan and California Pose Challenges for Background Checks
In 2016, the city of Los Angeles passed the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance (FCIHO). Preempting California’s Fair Chance Act (FCA) by nearly two years, the FCIHO prohibits private employers operating in the city...more
Every new year brings changes to the employment laws applicable to New York State and New York City employers. In this article, we review the key employment laws that went into effect in 2024 and highlight some of the new and...more
As we head into a new year, employers should make plans to implement developments in various areas of employment law that will take effect in 2025 while confirming compliance with changes that have occurred over the past...more
The New York Clean Slate Act (the Act), which took effect Nov. 16, 2024, provides for the automatic sealing of certain convictions when certain periods of time have passed, after which information regarding the sealed...more
On June 24, 2024, the Legislature of the Virgin Islands overrode Governor Albert Bryan Jr.’s veto of the Fair Chance for Employment Act. The act is intended to prohibit the automatic disqualification of applicants based upon...more
San Diego County is the latest California county to enact its own Fair Chance Ordinance, the SDFCO. The law applies only in unincorporated areas of San Diego County. The law took effect October 10, but financial penalties for...more
Following the lead of other California cities and counties, the County of San Diego recently passed a local fair chance ordinance restricting the use of criminal history in employment decisions. Effective October 10,...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
In keeping with the recent proliferation of fair chance legislation at the state and local levels, effective October 10, 2024, businesses with five or more employees who carry out business in unincorporated areas of San Diego...more
California state law already saddles private sector employers with significant obligations to job applicants with a criminal record. Various local laws layer on top of these obligations to make compliance even more...more
The Prince George’s, Maryland County Council recently enacted Bill CB-019-2024, amending the county's Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards. Effective September 16, 2024, the ordinance—renamed “Access to Employment for...more
Los Angeles County’s “Fair Chance Ordinance” took effect today, requiring employers in the unincorporated areas of the county to comply with criminal background check rules that are more restrictive than those that apply...more
Starting after Labor Day, employers with jobs located in the unincorporated areas of the County of Los Angeles, including work-from-home and hybrid positions, must comply with the County’s fair chance hiring ordinance. The...more
The County of Los Angeles has announced a new Fair Chance Ordinance, taking effect on September 3, 2024, that will regulate the consideration of criminal history information by employers with five or more employees in...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
Independent contractors can pose safety and security risks as much as employees. Some go into customer homes. Others have access to personally identifiable information and proprietary business information. Some independent...more
Companies that hire employees and engage independent contractors in California should brace themselves for an even greater slowdown in background checks that include criminal record searches in Los Angeles County. This will...more
Will a misdemeanor affect employment? Getting a job with a misdemeanor on your record is usually not an issue, but certain offenses might make it challenging to land specific types of employment. For example: ●...more
When is an offense a covered “offense” under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act’s (WFEA) prohibition against arrest record discrimination? This was the question answered by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in its recent decision...more
California’s Fair Chance Act also known as the “Ban the Box” law took effect in January 2018. It generally prohibits employers with five or more employees from asking about your conviction history before making you a job...more
Pennsylvania and Philadelphia recently enacted changes that impact employer criminal background screening. ...more
New York has enacted the Clean Slate Act, effective November 16, 2024, which will provide for the automatic sealing of certain criminal history records. Upon sealing, the records will be unavailable to most employers in a...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 16, 2023, New York became the 12th state to enact “Clean Slate” legislation, which allows certain criminal records to be sealed after an individual is sentenced or released from incarceration,...more
On Nov. 16, 2023, New York State Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation, also known as the Clean Slate Act, to automatically seal from public access criminal records for most individuals convicted of a crime....more
A scary surprise is fun to encounter when you are in a haunted house at a Halloween event, but not so much fun when you are performing a background check on a potential employee. Even worse is finding out after the fact that...more