How and when employers can request and use a person’s criminal record information during the hiring process and for other employment purposes has become a hot topic over the last few years at the federal, state and local level. In the last 18 months, various states and cities have enacted legislation regulating when an employer can seek criminal record information in the hiring process, what information can be sought and how the information can be used. Effective July 6, 2014, Alabama joins the growing list of states regulating employer use of criminal record information for employment purposes.