The Risks in Background Checks
The Clean Slate Act’s Impact on Employers
AGG Talks: Background Screening - Ban the Box and Fair Chance Hiring Laws: The Year in Review
Expungements: A Helping Hand for a Second Chance and New Opportunities
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
#WorkforceWednesday: COVID-19 Restrictions Tighten, NYC Fair Chance Act, Biden's Budget - Employment Law This Week®
How to Conduct Criminal Background Checks the Right Way
[WEBINAR] Labor & Employment Law: What Changed in 2017
"Ban The Box" And Other Laws Limiting An Employer's Use Of Criminal History
LXBN This Week Ep. 2: EEOC on Criminal Records & Transgender Discrimination, BP Oil Spill Arrest, AZ Immigration Law at SCOTUS
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
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
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
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
The California Civil Rights Council recently amended the regulations interpreting California’s 2018 Fair Chance Act, which go into effect October 1, 2023. The new regulations add restrictions, make clarifications, and...more
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
A job applicant who didn’t disclose a felony conviction can’t sue her prospective employer under a federal background-check law for failing to provide proper notice before rescinding her offer, according to a recent decision...more
More than 90% of employers use some form of a background screening on applicants or employees when making employment decisions. There can be several reasons for using them: ensuring safety in the workplace; reducing exposure...more
On March 23, 2021, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill (SB1480) that amends the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) to, among other things, impose new requirements on employers that perform criminal history checks on their...more
On December 10, 2020, the New York City Council amended New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA), also known as the “ban the box” law. The recently enacted amendments will take effect on July 29, 2021....more
Further restrictions on New York City employers’ ability to take adverse action against applicants or employees based on their criminal history are on the horizon. The New York City Council just passed a bill which will...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
Part II: Offer Letters and Background Checks - In a previous article, we addressed certain pitfalls for numerous foreign employers seeking to hire personnel in New York State (regarding advertising and interviewing for a...more
Employees – and unsuccessful applicants for employment – are increasingly asserting claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) for violations arising out of background checks conducted by third party credit reporting...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
As we previously reported in July and June, New York City recently passed the Fair Chance Act (FCA), which becomes effective on Tuesday, October 27, 2015, and is applicable to criminal background checks. Among other...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
New York City’s new Fair Chance Act goes into effect this Tuesday (October 27, 2015). As discussed in our prior posts, New York employers have long been required – prior to taking adverse action on the basis of an...more
On February 11, 2014, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed sweeping amendments to San Francisco Police Code, Article 49, and Administrative Code, Article 12 (“the amendments” or “the ordinances”) that significantly...more
Seattle employers are about to become much more restricted in their ability to inquire into or act upon the criminal records of applicants and employees. On November 1st, the Seattle Job Assistance Ordinance, SMC 14.17, takes...more
On June 10, 2013, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance significantly restricting private employers’ ability to rely on criminal background checks to screen applicants for jobs in the City of Seattle. If Mayor McGinn...more