Written by Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP Can you ask a job applicant criminal history? As with so many legal questions, the answer is “it depends” — on where you work, in this case. A recently enacted law will change this answer for Colorado employers beginning as early as September 1, 2019. In just a […]
New Mexico Adopts Ban-the-Box, Expungement Laws
Written by Jackson Lewis PC – Danny W. Jarrett, Susan M. Corcoran and Richard I. Greenberg New Mexico is the latest state to adopt statewide legislation prohibiting private employers from making inquiries into an applicant’s criminal history on the initial employment application. The state also enacted legislation prohibiting employers from asking applicants for information about a […]
What’s holding companies back from hiring people with criminal records?
It turns out everyone—managers, employees, and customers—want it to happen. Written by Ben Paynter People with criminal records have an exceptionally hard time finding a job: Between 60% and 75% of the formerly incarcerated remain unemployed one year after their release. Why can’t they get hired? Some employers might think employees don’t want to work alongside former […]
Clean Slate law offers offenders a fresh start without public criminal record
Written by: Deb Erdley Pennsylvania state court officials are preparing a massive initiative that could pave the way for courts across the country to offer people convicted of minor offenses a fresh start outside the shadow of their past. In late June, Pennsylvania officials plan to begin running a computer program that will flag an […]
Ban-the-Box Laws, What You Need to Know
Nationwide, each state has slowly been adopting the ban-the-box law to help ex-offenders find work. Ban-the-box or the “fair-chance policy” is a policy that requires employers to remove the conviction history question from their job applications. In some areas, it dictates when an employer can conduct a background check. The goal is to get employers to view all job applications equally, and schedule interviews based on qualifications alone in order to help convicts find work after prison.
