by William J. Simmons, Haley Norwillo - Littler
Pennsylvania and Philadelphia recently enacted changes that impact employer criminal background screening.
State Law
Enacted on December 14, 2023, and effective February 12, 2024, Pennsylvania’s House Bill No. 689 amends Pennsylvania law relating to the expungement of certain criminal record information and employer immunity when hiring individuals with expunged records.
by Henry Savage - Inquirer
Hiring people who have been impacted by the justice system, whether from being incarcerated or put on parole or probation, can change a person’s life, but also reduce the chances of them returning to prison again.
However, “returning citizens” can find it difficult to get a job after being released. To combat recidivism, the Department of Commerce created the Fair Chance Hiring Initiative in 2017, a program that financially incentivizes employers to hire returning citizens and keep them employed for the long term.
by Susan M. Corcoran, Richard Greenberg, Eileen K. Keefe, Timothy M. McCarthy - The National Law Review
Changes to Philadelphia law will further restrict employers’ use and reliance on applicant, current employee, and independent contractor background information and affect the employee application and employee management process.
Amendments to Philadelphia’s Unlawful Credit Screening Practices in Employment ordinance and Fair Criminal Record Screenings Standards ordinance (FCRSS), commonly referred to as the “Ban the Box” regulation, took effect March 21, 2021, and April 1, 2021, respectively. The regulations supplement the governing requirements of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Pennsylvania’s Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA).
