New York City Bars Employers From Considering Criminal History Before Extending A Job Offer

Today, Pillsbury attorneys Julia Judish and Ken Taber published their client alert titled New York City Bars Employers From Considering Criminal History Before Extending A Job Offer. This Alert discusses Mayor de Blasio’s recent approval of the Fair Chance Act, a new law that generally prohibits New York City employers from discriminating against job applicants with a criminal record and prohibits inquiries about job applicants’ criminal records before a job offer is extended. This new law applies to all private-sector New York City employers with 4 or more employees and, for or purposes of calculating coverage, the Act includes individual independent contractors performing work for the employer if those individuals do not themselves have employees. The new law is effective on October 27, 2015.