By Pamela Q. Devata and Jennifer L. Mora
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 some major developments, which are highlighted in this blog.
Illinois
Illinois amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to make it
Continue Reading Another Busy Year for Employment-Purposed Background Checks: What Happened in 2021?
By Michael Fleischer, Jean Wilson, and Barry Miller
Synopsis: Massachusetts Attorney General investigates 70 employers (both large and small – across all industries), citing 21 of them for violating the state’s “ban the box” law, which prohibits most businesses from asking about job candidates’ criminal backgrounds on initial employment applications.
Last week, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healy
Continue Reading Mass. AG on the Lookout for Prohibited Criminal History Inquiries
By Jennifer L. Mora and Pamela Q. Devata
Seyfarth Synopsis: Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently signed a bill that will prohibit counties and cities from enacting “ban-the-box” ordinances or other restrictions on the ability of private employers to inquire about criminal history early in the hiring process.”
On March 26, 2018, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder signed Senate Bill 0353
Continue Reading Michigan Bans Local Ban-the-Box Laws
By Pamela Q. Devata and Jennifer L. Mora
Seyfarth Synopsis: In the last three years, employers have seen a sharp increase in the number of employment class actions under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Most of the reported cases involve challenges to the employer’s procedures before ordering a background report. More recently, however, we are seeing more cases
Continue Reading Court Holds that Receiving an Updated Background Report May Require a Second Pre-Adverse Action Notice
By Pamela Q. Devata, Robert T. Szyba, Alnisa Bell, and Ephraim J. Pierre
Seyfarth Synopsis: As cities across the nation adopt “ban the box” legislation that regulates private employers’ ability to inquire into applicants’ and employees’ criminal histories, employers face a nuanced gauntlet of compliance issues. This post briefly reviews recent developments in New York City, Philadelphia,
Continue Reading Trends In the “Ban the Box” Movement: Recent Developments In City Ordinances
By: Christopher Lowe and Alnisa Bell
On Monday, Governor Chris Christie signed the Opportunity to Compete Act (A1999) into law, which is designed to restrict employers from asking about prior criminal convictions on job applications. Christie enthusiastically hailed New Jersey as “a state that believes every life is precious” and stated, “everyone deserves a second chance . . . Today,
Continue Reading New Jersey Joins “Ban the Box” Movement and Chris Christie Safeguards Employers
By: Paul Kehoe and Pamela Q. Devata
On May 15, 2014, Baltimore joined the growing number of jurisdictions to ban the box on employment applications. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake signed Baltimore’s Fair Criminal-Record Screening Practices ordinance, which bans private employers from inquiring about or conducting a criminal background check on an applicant until after an employer has essentially completed the
Continue Reading Imprisonment For Asking About Criminal Convictions Too Early? Baltimore Bans the Box.