ENACTED LEGISLATION
LAKELAND CITY, FLORIDA: Criminal question removed from city job applications
Summary: Effective February 1, 2021, questions about prior criminal history convictions were removed from the Lakeland City job application for all positions outside of the public safety sector.
Impact(s): Lakeland City, FL city agencies
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NEW YORK: New law will extend protections for criminal conviction discrimination
Summary: Effective July 28, 2021, this law will expand New York City's current ban-the-box law to provide protections for job applicants and current employees against employer discrimination or adverse action due to pending criminal charges, arrests or convictions. The scope of the protections are as follows:
  • Restricts consideration of criminal accusations and arrests pending at the time of application;
  • Restricts consideration of convictions that occur during employment;
  • Prohibits inquiry of non-pending arrests and criminal accusations and adjournments in contemplation of dismissal;
  • Prohibits inquiries regarding non-criminal offenses and denial of employment due to same;
  • Restricts an employer's right to revocation of a conditional offer of employment;
  • Requires employers to affirmatively solicit from the applicant information for the Fair Chance Act factors.
Impact(s): New York employers
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PROPOSED LEGISLATION
CALIFORNIA: Bill introduced to prohibit discrimination because of drug testing results
Summary: AB 1256 was introduced which, if passed, will prohibit an employer from discriminating against an applicant or current employee because a drug screening test found the person to have tetrahydrocannabinol in their urine. Exemptions to this bill include employers who conduct testing for tetrahydrocannabinol by federal law or employers who would lose money or licensing related benefits for failure to test for tetrahydrocannabinal.
Impact(s): California employers
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PENNSYLVANIA: Bill introduced to prohibit credit check during hiring process
Summary: House Bill 825 was introduced to the Pennsylvania Senate. If passed, the bill will prohibit an employer from using an applicant's credit report as part of an employer's decision making process.
Impact(s): Pennsylvania employers
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COURT OPINIONS
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT: Rehearing denied for discrimination claims
Summary: African-American plaintiffs filed a claim against a company for withdrawing their job applications after learning of past criminal convictions. The plaintiffs stated that the company's withdrawal has a disproportionate effect on black applicants. A petition en banc, requesting a rehearing, was denied by the Second Circuit. In its decision, the court stated that "the fact that such a disparity exists among the general population does not automatically mean that it exists among the pool of applicants qualified for the jobs in question - what is true of the whole is not necessarily true of its parts."
Impact(s): Background check compliance - for general legal review
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