On July 19, 2014, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, which will go into effect on January 1, 2015. The new law will restrict the timing of pre-employment inquiries by Illinois employers about a job…
Posts by Category: Criminal History Check
Ban the Box: What’s Next? Ban the Job Application?
The job application needs a fresh look. For sure, employers need to collect basic information like name, address and contact information. But like the question about convictions, the question isn’t if it can be asked but when. So here’s a crazy thought but…
Ban the Box in Indiana: What Employers Need to Know
Companies are rethinking the single check box on employment applications that inquire about an applicant’s criminal history. Over sixty cities and counties have taken steps toward eliminating job application barriers that have traditionally disposed of…
New Jersey Senate Bill Would Prohibit Automatic Disqualification of Applicants Based on Criminal Record
The Senate has introduced two (essentially identical) bills (S2101 and S2102) that would prohibit public and private employers from automatically rejecting current or prospective employees based on their criminal record. The bill would require employers to consider at…
New Alabama Law Allows Expungement of Certain Criminal Records
A new law in Alabama allows individuals to petition to have certain criminal records expunged upon the payment of $300 in fees, plus court costs, and following a successful petition to the court in which the relevant charge was filed. This means that a prospective…
U.S. Census Bureau Down for the Count After Certification Ruling in Criminal Background Check Case
A Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted partial class certification in a case where plaintiffs allege that the United States Census Bureau used arrest records to screen out job applicants, thereby…
Alabama Employers May No Longer Consider Certain Criminal Records for Hiring Purposes
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…
Theme Park Employees Caught in Sex Stings, Child Porn Arrests
There have been at least 35 Disney employees arrested since 2006 and accused of sex crimes involving children, trying to meet a minor for sex, or for possession of child pornography, according to a six-month CNN investigation. Five Universal Studios employees and two…
Ruling Could Scrub Quarter of Sex Offender Registry
One-fourth of the names on Maryland’s sex offender registry are to be removed after the state’s top court expanded on an earlier ruling that adding offenders from before the list was created violated the state constitution. The Court of Appeals declared…
New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee Approves Significantly Less Onerous Version of Ban the Box Legislation
The New Jersey Legislature has been considering “ban the box” legislation since February 2013. Amidst opposition from business groups, the proposed law underwent several changes over the last 16 months. On June 5, 2014, the Senate Budget and Appropriations…




