Comments on: NYC bans criminal record questions before job offer

By: gitarcarver

gitarcarver — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 04:07:24 +0000

John.

Since no one else has answered…

The original Ford Harrison article says:

Moreover, the Act exempts from coverage police officers, peace officers and certain positions within the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.

This is confirmed by the actual text of the Act which reads:

10(b)(b) For purposes of this subdivision, “employment” shall not include membership in any law enforcement agency.

http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=6897&GUID=CDC6E691-8A8C-4F25-97CB-86F31EDAB081

By: John Rohan

John Rohan — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 19:53:47 +0000

Is NYC going to apply this to applications for the police force also?

By: gitarcarver

gitarcarver — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 17:33:49 +0000

It seems to me that this will be a boon for lawyers and government agencies.

If a person is offered the job and then the offer is revoked because of the criminal background check turning something up, the law requires that the applicant be given a written statement as to why they were turned down. The ability to turn someone down is based on several shifting and nebulous criteria all of which are subject to review by people who don’t own businesses and don’t work in a for profit business.

The sad thing is that with regulations like this, Mr. Olson will never run out of subject matter for this blog.

By: Kennon

Kennon — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 04:56:58 +0000

Most jobs I work, the employer pays for DOJ live scan and in some cases a PI to run a background check. Are those now illegal or is this only pertaining to fast food and retail jobs?

By: PaulB

PaulB — Mon, 22 Jun 2015 01:44:06 +0000

“So why is there this gap on your resume for the last three to five years?” “You can’t ask me that, it’s against the law for you to do so.”

By: Bill Poser

Bill Poser — Sun, 21 Jun 2015 20:58:43 +0000

I wonder how this will affect programs intended to rehabilitate criminals. Not only do various organizations run such programs, but some private employers give preference to ex-cons for certain jobs. Will they now be unable to do so? I see how you can make an offer conditional on the applicant having a clean record; will some employers be put in the weird position of making offers of employment conditional on the applicant having a certain type of criminal record?

By: William Nuesslein

William Nuesslein — Sun, 21 Jun 2015 17:20:34 +0000

Without a regulation, employers have to inquire about criminal matters, as lack of doing so provides easy pickings in case of litigation about any of many matters. That is what discrimination regulation does. It spreads the cost of doing good, providing a chance for a person to earn his own bread in this case, over a large base. It is not to correct wrongs. On the whole, superior workers will be selected no matter what, as not doing so constitutes a tax on offending employers.