by Barry Cook - Information/Age
The past few years have been challenging for IT and business teams. From implementing the conditions of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); monitoring the slow passage of the ePrivacy Regulation (ePR); responding to the revised cookie guidelines of national agencies and preparing for and putting in processes to mitigate the potential implications of the will-they won’t-they Brexit situation in the UK, there’s been a lot to take in.
by Sarah K. Carpenter - Smith Currie
Maryland’s “Ban the Box” law, the Criminal Record Screening Practices Act (the “Criminal Record Act”), went into effect February 29, 2020. Maryland now joins a growing number of states and localities that have implemented “Ban the Box” restrictions prohibiting employers from requesting information about a job applicant’s criminal history. The Federal Government also joined the “Ban the Box” legislative wave on December 20, 2019 when President Trump signed into law the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (the “Fair Chance Act”), which is scheduled to go into effect in December 2021.
by Sierra Hignite - WISHTV.com
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indiana lawmaker wants to close a loophole involving background checks at Indiana day care facilities for children.
News 8 talked to parents who say they were shocked to hear that the proposal was not already a requirement.
There are a lot of day care facilities that require criminal background checks for all of their employees, but the state law only requires that some people get those criminal background checks.
by Nancy L. Gunzenhauser Popper and Amanda M. Gomez - The National Law Review
On January 29, 2020, the House of Representatives passed the Comprehensive CREDIT Act of 2020 (the “Act”), which would change federal laws pertaining to consumer reporting agencies and credit checks in a number of ways. Significantly for employers, the Act includes an amendment (originally H.R. 3614 – “Restricting Credit Checks for Employment Decisions Act”) to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”), which would restrict the use of credit information for most employment decisions.
Read more: https://www.natlawreview.com/article/house-passes-bill-restricting-employer-credit-checks
by Jonathan Zittrain - The Atlantic
Twenty years ago at a Silicon Valley product launch, Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy dismissed concern about digital privacy as a red herring: “You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.”
“Zero privacy” was meant to placate us, suggesting that we have a fixed amount of stuff about ourselves that we’d like to keep private. Once we realized that stuff had already been exposed and, yet, the world still turned, we would see that it was no big deal. But what poses as unsentimental truth telling isn’t cynical enough about the parlous state of our privacy.
by Merel Keijzer - Littler
On December 13, 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court (ECLI:NL:HR:2019:1950) provided clarity on the issue of giving references for former employees. Even after the employment relationship has ended, the employer and employee must act in accordance with the principles of being a good employer and a good employee. For this reason, negative comments about the ex-employee could be classified as unlawful and lead to liability on the part of the employer. In this article, we will discuss points to consider when requesting and providing references, given the case law.
by Josh Moody - U.S. News
One way the higher education landscape has evolved in recent years can be seen in the "ban the box" movement – also dubbed "beyond the box" by some proponents. In short, the movement encourages colleges and employers to not ask about criminal history on an application for admission or a job.
It's a move that former President Barack Obama embraced in 2015 and that numerous states and cities across the country have adopted in recent years to discourage employment discrimination against ex-prisoners.
by Peter Suciu - ClearanceJobs
The “Fair Chance Act” was signed into law as 2019 came to a close, just one part of the National Defense Authorization Act. It prohibits federal contractors that have openings for positions within the scope of federal contracts, as well as all federal agencies, from inquiring about or otherwise seeking criminal history information from an applicant until after a conditional job offer has been extended.
Read more: https://news.clearancejobs.com/2020/01/14/what-the-fair-chance-act-means-for-government-contractors/
by Collin Dorsey - KWWL.com
The lawsuit filed against the City of Waterloo by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry alleges Waterloo is violating state law with the controversial "ban the box" ordinance.
The lawsuit cited a section of Iowa code that was championed by the Iowa ABI and was passed in 2017. It reads a city cannot pass any ordinance exceeding or conflicting with federal or state laws relating to hiring practices.
Read more: https://kwwl.com/2020/01/06/waterloo-facing-suit-over-ban-the-box/
Press Release from booker.senate.gov
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A bill authored by U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) to give formerly incarcerated individuals a better chance to find employment passed the U.S. House of Representatives today as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). It will now be considered by the full Senate.
Read more: https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1031
