Press Release from Utah Business
Salt Lake City—In honor of Second Chance Month, local leaders and second chance employers will join Rasa Legal and Clean Slate Utah for a panel discussion of the value of hiring and supporting people with criminal records. The discussion will take place on Thursday, April 27, from 6-7 p.m. MDT at The Other Side Academy.
Read more: https://www.utahbusiness.com/leaders-discuss-second-chance-employment/
by Michaelle Bond - The Philadelphia Inquirer
A New Jersey single father of two convicted of drug offenses has been sober for almost two years and has been out of prison for about three. The man, who is in his 30s, has a stable job working for a union and has enough money for a security deposit and to make rent payments.
“Yet he can’t find an apartment that’s willing to take him because of his felony conviction,” said Priscilla Carmona, a cofounder of the Jersey City-based organization SCORES Reentry, which provides services to formerly incarcerated people throughout New Jersey.
by Alexander Reich, Jason Tremblay, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP - JD Supra
In 2015, Illinois became one of the first states to enact a “ban the box” law, preventing employers from inquiring about criminal histories on employment applications. The “ban the box” law followed a general prohibition in Illinois under the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) on basing any employment decisions on an applicant’s or employee’s arrest history. Now, Illinois is set to go one step further and ban the use of criminal convictions in employment actions, with limited exceptions.
Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/illinois-poised-to-bar-criminal-1774361/
by Scott Horton, Horton Law PLLC - JDSupra
New York City joined the ranks of municipalities with a “ban-the-box” law in 2015. The original law prohibited employers with 4 or more employees from asking about an applicant’s pending arrest or criminal conviction record until after making a conditional job offer. Recent amendments to the New York City Fair Chance Act will add new protections for employees with arrests or convictions during employment.
Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/nyc-adds-protections-for-employees-with-2650371/
By Louis R. Mizell, Jr. and Michael A. Gips - SHRM
Background checks, preemployment screening, background investigations—by whatever name, it's the process of scouring criminal, academic, employment and other records to verify that potential hires are who they say they are and have the background, education and experience they claim.
by Alonzo Martinez - Forbes
Bolstering Covid-19 worker protections, the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing ("DFEH") recently clarified the state’s criminal background check regulations. The new guidance expands the scope of California’s Fair Chance Act and places employers on notice regarding DFEH’s intended enforcement of the law.
by Madeleine List - Providence Journal
PROVIDENCE — Mark Gonsalves knows that as a licensed social worker or case manager, he could do even more to help people with mental health conditions and substance-use disorders. But his criminal record, which includes multiple drug- and alcohol-related charges and a history of on-and-off incarceration dating back to 1988, has held him back from obtaining the occupational licenses he needs. A bill passed last week by the General Assembly is about to change that.
