Proposed Legislation Limiting Inquiries into an Applicant’s Criminal History Prior to an Offer of Employment Introduced in the New York State Legislature
2-20-2023 by Proskauer @ www.jdsupra.com
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.”
This proposed legislation would effectively bring New York State into alignment with numerous other states and cities that have “banned the box” – i.e., restricted inquiries into criminal history until after the conditional offer stage. This includes New York City, which has had a similar requirement in place since 2015 pursuant to the Fair Chance Act, but which also places additional limitations on the timing of criminal inquiries during hiring and additional obligations on employers when rescinding a job offer based on criminal history.