An amendment to the original bill essentially wiped the prior version clean. Thus, whatever you think you knew about the measure you can put that aside. What recently passed (House Bill 5237) was a very watered-down version of the measure. It moves on to the Governor’s office for signature and will become effective January 1, 2017. Any violation of the new rule is subject to a complaint filed with the Labor Commissioner, but not a lawsuit. For now, employers need only amend their employment application to remove the box that asks about “prior arrests, criminal charges, or convictions.” But nothing prevents a follow-up form from being requested or prevents these issues from being discussed in the job interview itself. Employers ought to review their existing applications and update them to comply with this new state law.

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