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 Carey L Biron - Sight Magazine
By the time Lee "Taqwaa" Bonner got out of prison in California, he had spent 30 years behind bars and was unsure where to go.
He stayed at a halfway house for three months, but then had to find a home. Everywhere he went, doors were slammed in his face.
"I tried to move in with my younger sister, until [an official] informed me that I was putting her housing in jeopardy," Bonner, 56, told Context.
by Rachel Ommerman, Virginia Bell Flynn, David N. Anthony - Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor
In a recent decision, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania granted summary judgment in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case where a bank promptly corrected inaccurate mortgage payment information furnished to three national consumer reporting agencies (CRAs).
by Marjorie C. Soto Garcia, Cristell Fortune - MWE
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently released an updated version of the “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act” notice to job applicants and employees required in connection with conducting employment background checks (also known as the Summary of Consumer Rights). Starting on March 20, 2024, employers and consumer reporting agencies (third-party background check vendors) will need to provide the newly revised Summary of Consumer Rights to applicants and employees in connection with background checks to comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. This article analyzes the updates to the Summary of Consumer Rights and provides recommended next steps employers and consumer reporting agencies should take to be in compliance with the law.
by Joshua Howell, Meagan Mihalko, Stefanie Jackman, David N. Anthony - Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor
An Illinois federal district court recently denied a creditor-defendant’s motion for summary judgment in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case brought by a consumer who questioned why his debt was being reported twice — as both a tradeline with the original creditor and as a tradeline with a third-party collection agency. The court’s opinion in Kyle Fickel vs. Clearwater Credit Union et al. is a warning about the credit reporting issues that can arise when lenders refer or assign debts to collections.
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.
Financial Institution Letter - FDIC
On December 23, 2022, the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (NDAA), which contained the Fair Hiring in Banking Act (Act), was signed into law and became immediately effective. The Act provides significant amendments to Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. § 1829) (Section 19).
Section 19 prohibits a person from participating in the affairs of an FDIC-insured institution if he or she has been convicted of an offense involving dishonesty, breach of trust, or money laundering, or has entered into a pretrial diversion or similar program in connection with a prosecution for such an offense, without the prior written consent of the FDIC.
Read more: https://www.fdic.gov/news/financial-institution-letters/2023/fil23009.html
by Mary Green - Live 5 News WCSC
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - When Lester Young of Columbia was released from prison after serving 22 years, he was ready to find a job and begin the next chapter of his life outside incarceration.
But Young said he could not get hired after employers took a look at his criminal record.
“It was kind of discouraging to walk out of prison and ready to go to work and start your life over, and people are telling you you are not good enough to work for them,” he said. “It was not that you couldn’t do the job but because you had a felony conviction.”
by A.J. Herrington
The Washington state Senate has passed a bill that prevents employers from denying employment based on a positive drug test for weed.
The Washington Senate this week approved a bill that would protect cannabis users from pre-employment job discrimination. The measure, Senate Bill 5123, was passed by the state Senate on Wednesday by a vote of 28-21 and will now be considered by the Washington House of Representatives.
Read more: https://hightimes.com/news/washington-senate-passes-bill-banning-hiring-discrimination-for-pot-use/
by Evandro C Gigante, Laura M. Fant, Margo R. Richard - The National Law Review
On February 7, 2023, Bill No. A03726 was introduced before the New York State Assembly which, if passed, would prohibit employers from inquiring about or making statements regarding “the arrest record or conviction record of any person who is in the process of applying for employment or interviewing for employment with such employer.”
