In the early 2000s, grassroots organizers in San Francisco and Boston began urging local governments to remove questions about convictions from job applications so that people can be judged first on their qualifications. Just over a decade later, over 100…
Posts by Category: Criminal History Check
State Appellate Court Considers Employer’s Duty to Conduct Criminal Background Checks
In the last few years, there has been a significant spike in the number of lawsuits challenging employer use of criminal background checks, including class action lawsuits brought under the federal FCRA. There also has been a sharp increase in the number of state and…
A Bipartisan “Ban the Box” Bill is Introduced in Congress
Members of Congress led by U.S. Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) in the Senate and Reps. Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD) and Darrell Issa (R-CA), in the House of Representatives, introduced the Fair Chance Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would…
Fort Myers FL to Ban the Box on City Job Applications
The City of Fort Myers, Florida plans to “Ban the Box” and remove a question on the city’s employment application that asks job seekers applying for city government jobs if they have ever been convicted of a crime. The Myers Human Resources…
City of Wichita Joins Ban the Box Movement
The city of Wichita, Kansas has joined the Ban the Box movement by implementing a new program called the Fair Chance Initiative where public sector job applications will no longer ask candidates to check a box if they have a felony conviction. The Ban the Box program…
Improper Use of Criminal Background Checks Could Cost You Millions
There is a growing movement to “Ban the Box” that has materialized in various states and local governments severely restricting, or absolutely prohibiting, the use of criminal background checks by employers. Over the past few years, the EEOC has challenged…
The Hiring Process Tightrope – Tips for Employers in the Senior Care Space to Navigate the EEOC’s Guidance on Criminal Background Checks and “Ban the Box” Laws
For employers in the senior living and long-term care industry, criminal history information is a crucial tool in the hiring process. Various state and federal laws prohibit retirement communities from employing individuals who have been convicted of certain crimes…
The Supreme Court of New Jersey Narrows the State’s Expungement Statute
N.J.S.A 2C: 52-2(a) permits the Superior Court to expunge convictions of certain classes of offenses under certain enumerated circumstances. As one example, the applicant seeking the remedy must have been “convicted of a crime,” but “…not convicted of any prior…
Using Criminal Convictions in the Hire Process: A Hobson’s Choice for Employers?
Is the government really telling employers that they are not allowed to disqualify an applicant because of past criminal activity? In a word, yes. That is increasingly becoming the case on the state level and has been the focus of federal enforcement efforts over the…
EEOC Uses its Record Keeping Requirements to Police Use of Criminal Background Checks
Did you know that the EEOC requires employers to keep all personnel and employment records for at least one year? Just as importantly, to the extent the employer uses a screening technique, like a pre-employment test, information on its impact on candidates by sex,…



