Last Thursday, Tampa’s City Council declined to pass a law that would have “banned the box” for city contractors. “Ban the box” refers to a movement at the state and local levels of government to remove the check box from job applications that ask whether the candidate has a criminal
Ban the Box
California’s Fair Chance Employment Act Targets Construction Contractors
A new California law took effect January 1 that requires employers making bids on state contracts involving “onsite construction-related services” to certify they have “banned the box” on applications for onsite construction-related employment. As such, the new law prohibits oral or written inquiries into the applicant’s conviction history on or…
Syracuse “Bans the Box” for City Contractors
Effective March 22, 2015, Syracuse has “banned the box” for any person that enters into a service contract or concession agreement with the City, or otherwise supplies goods and/or services to, or on behalf of, the City. “Ban the box” refers to a growing movement at the state and local…
New Delaware Law “Encourages” State Vendors to “Ban the Box”
Delaware’s Governor recently signed a “ban the box” law to prohibit public employers from inquiring into or considering the credit or criminal history of a job candidate during the initial application process (up to and including the first interview), unless otherwise required by state or federal law. Public employers must…
New Louisville “Ban the Box” Ordinance Covers City Contractors, Continues Growing Trend
Mayor Greg Fischer recently signed an ordinance that generally prohibits the Louisville Metro Government (hereinafter, “City”) and its vendors from inquiring into an applicant’s criminal history on the initial job application.
The Ordinance joins an ever-growing patchwork of laws that curbs inquiries into or the use of an applicant and/or employee’s criminal history in employment decisions. Indeed, approximately 10 states and 50 localities have “banned the box” and, although many of these laws only apply to public employers, several local ordinances cover government contractors in particular, including in Compton (CA), Richmond (CA), Hartford (CT), New Haven (CT), Indianapolis (IN), Boston (MA), Cambridge (MA), Worcester, (MA), Detroit (MI), Atlantic City (NJ), New York City (NY), and Pittsburgh (PA). Nine other jurisdictions—Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island, as well as the Cities of Philadelphia (PA), Newark (NJ), Buffalo (NY), Seattle (WA), and San Francisco (CA)—also have “banned the box” for private employers (either expressly or implicitly covering government contractors). And, many more jurisdictions have imposed other limitations on criminal background checks for private and public employers, as well as for city vendors.
This post examines the obligations that vendors face under the new Louisville Ordinance and proposes best practices for compliance.