Bookmark and Share
 

E-Alerts

Rhode Island Joins “Ban the Box” Trend: Prohibits Criminal History Inquiries On Employment Applications

[August 12, 2013]  Effective January 1, 2014, Rhode Island will join Massachusetts and other state and local governments in restricting pre-employment inquiries about job applicants’ criminal histories.  In all, ten states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Rhode Island) and 52 municipalities (including New York, New York, Austin, Texas, and Detroit, Michigan) have passed similar laws and ordinances.

Rhode Island employers will be prohibited from asking in employment applications whether an applicant has ever been arrested, charged with, or convicted of any crime.  Employers also will be prohibited from orally asking job applicants for this information prior to the first interview.

The law applies to public and private Rhode Island employers with four or more workers, with certain exceptions.  For example, pre-interview criminal history questions are permissible for law enforcement agencies.  Other employers may make such inquiries where federal or state law prevents them from hiring persons convicted of a specified crime or where a bond is a job requirement and a prior offense would disqualify an applicant from obtaining such a bond.

Even when employers comply with these “ban the box” laws and request criminal history information only after an initial interview, use of such information poses risks.  The EEOC recently revealed its focus on this issue by filing lawsuits against two large employers, alleging that their use of criminal background checks disproportionately affected African-Americans.  The EEOC issued guidance on the use of criminal checks in 2012, and employers would be wise to review the guidance in light of the EEOC’s recent activity.

We recommend that employers review the EEOC’s 2012 guidance, determine whether the municipalities and states in which they operate have “ban the box” laws, review and revise their job applications and policies for compliance with the laws, and train hiring and recruiting managers on the change.