On December 15, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) published in the Federal Register a notice listing its priorities. Under “Suitability” on page 77883 of the Federal Register, OPM states that they will be “proposing modifications to its rules to better ensure that applicants from all segments of society, including those with prior criminal histories, receive a fair opportunity to compete for Federal employment.” Specifically, the proposed changes would prohibit federal employers from collecting criminal background information “until the best qualified candidates are referred to a hiring manager.” According to the announcement, “OPM would be providing a mechanism for requesting exceptions when there are legitimate, specific job-related, reasons why agencies may need to disqualify candidates with certain types of adverse history from particular types of positions.”

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