Congress Eases Criminal Offense Restrictions for Employment With Financial Institutions

by John Gerak, Zachary V. Zagger - Ogletree Deakins

Included in the defense spending bill signed by President Biden in December 2022 is a section with key provisions for financial institutions that will ease restrictions on hiring candidates with criminal records. Section 5705 in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023, titled “Fair Hiring in Banking,” further narrows convictions that would constitute a bar to employment under Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA) absent a written waiver by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). A representative for the FDIC confirmed that the changes are effective now and will be implemented by the FDIC in 2023.

Read more: https://ogletree.com/insights/congress-eases-criminal-offense-restrictions-for-employment-with-financial-institutions/

Credit checks for employment

by Chase

When applying for a job, your potential employer may run a credit check. A credit check is otherwise known as a credit inquiry, where someone pulls a summary of your credit. This can’t happen without your written consent. There are two kinds of inquiries—hard and soft. When an employer runs a credit check, this is a soft inquiry. It will not affect your score, unlike a hard inquiry, which can.

Read more: https://www.chase.com/personal/credit-cards/education/basics/employer-credit-check

Dziedzic, DFLers want to ‘ban the box’ for Minnesota boards and commissions

by Walker Orenstein and Peter Callaghan - SC Times

Minnesota has been considered a leader in one specific criminal justice reform known as ‘ban the box.’

In 2009, it was just the second state in the nation to prohibit public employers from including a criminal history question on initial job application forms. Then, in 2013, private employers were added to the law, a provision enacted with bipartisan support.

Read more: https://www.sctimes.com/story/news/politics/2023/01/16/dziedzic-wants-to-ban-the-box-for-minnesota-boards-commissions/69806254007/

Connecticut Clean Slate Law Brings New Requirements for Employers in 2023 and Beyond

by Andres Jimenez-Franck, John Stretton, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. - JDSupra

On June 10, 2021, Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Connecticut’s “Clean Slate” law, Public Act No. 21-32. The Clean Slate law became effective January 1, 2023, and it provides for the automatic erasure of certain criminal records.

Who Is Affected?

The Clean Slate law’s automatic erasure provision affects individuals with misdemeanors and low-level felony records. Individuals who have been convicted of sexual offenses, family violence, and firearm-related crimes are not eligible for the erasure of those records under the new law.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/connecticut-clean-slate-law-brings-new-3669390

California’s Civil Rights Department Adds More Detail to Regulations Regarding Consideration of Applicants’ Criminal History

by Philippe A. Lebel, Michelle Lappen - Proskauer

In the weeks and months since it changed its name from the Department of Fair Employment and Housing to the California Civil Rights Department (“CRD”), the agency has been busy.  Most recently, the CRD released proposed modifications to the regulations under the Fair Employment and Housing Act (“FEHA”) related to the use and consideration of criminal history information in employment decisions—a process that is already exceedingly complicated thanks to overlapping privacy laws (e.g., the California Consumer Privacy Act), the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act, and local “ban the box” ordinances in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Read more: https://calemploymentlawupdate.proskauer.com/2022/12/californias-civil-rights-department-adds-more-detail-to-regulations-regarding-consideration-of-applicants-criminal-history/#page=1

Does Airbnb do criminal background checks? Yes. Policy sparks backlash among consumers

by Katie Wedell - USA Today

Bethany Hallam has made no secret about her past struggles with drug addiction. She ran for her seat on the Allegheny County Council in Pennsylvania on a platform of improving the county's jail and public transportation system because she'd spent time in that jail and lost her driver's license for a time.

So, she was confused in September when she attempted to book a short-term stay in Florida through Airbnb – something she'd successfully done many times in the last six years – only to have her reservation canceled and her account banned because of a past criminal conviction discovered on a background check.

Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/2022/12/11/airbnb-bans-criminal-background-checks/10751848002/

Punching In: ‘Clean Slate’ Laws Spreading Among States, Cities

by Chris Marr, Robert Iafolla - Bloomberg Law

‘Clean Slate’ Legislation|Covid Litigation Update

Chris Marr: Laws aimed at improving the employment prospects of people with criminal records could be set to spread next year in state legislatures, after three new states passed “clean slate” measures in 2022.

Advocates are pushing New York lawmakers to pass a bill early in 2023 that would automatically seal a person’s criminal record a few years after they’ve served out their sentence, with the time period varying based on the severity of the crime. It’s one of several states with active efforts to pass such a law. California, Colorado, and Oklahoma each passed clean slate laws this year, bringing the count to eight states, according to the Clean Slate Initiative.

Read more: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/punching-in-clean-slate-laws-spreading-among-states-cities-28

Amazon and Washington AG reach agreement on criminal background check notices for Flex drivers

by Todd Bishop - Geek Wire

Amazon has made voluntary changes to its app for Flex delivery drivers in accordance with a Washington state law designed to provide a more level playing field for job applicants with criminal records, a new court filing shows.

The changes resolve an investigation launched by the office of Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson in March 2020, according to the Nov. 17 filing by Assistant AG Marsha Chien in King County Superior Court in Seattle.

Read more: https://www.geekwire.com/2022/amazon-and-washington-ag-reach-agreement-on-criminal-background-check-notices-for-flex-drivers/

Background checks and more: How IT companies are detecting moonlighting

by BS Web Team - Business Standard

As workers around the globe warm up to moonlighting, IT firms are gearing up to the challenge of identifying which of their employees are pursuing a secondary gig and whether that work is in direct conflict with the employee's primary job. But it's proving to be a challenge.

Read more: https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/background-checks-and-more-how-it-companies-are-detecting-moonlighting-122111000353_1.html

Employment Law Update 2023: New Compliance Obligations for the New Year

by Joy Rosenquist, Bruce Sarchet, Littler - JD Supra

2022 is coming to a close, and the new year will be here before we know it. While many states, cities and counties seem to be willing to pass employment laws and regulations at any time, the first day of a new year is still the number one day for new employment laws to take effect. 2023 will be no exception.

Read more: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/employment-law-update-2023-new-3270628/