Effective December 20, 2021, The Fair Chance Act will prohibit federal contractors from asking applicants applying to work in connection with federal contracts about their criminal histories until after the contractor extends a conditional job offer. In addition, contractors will be prohibited from seeking such information from other sources. Part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, the Act is limited in that it does not apply to job openings unrelated to federal contract work, but only to job openings “related to work under” a federal contract. Pre-offer criminal inquiries are allowed where criminal background checks are otherwise required by law; where “a contract … requires an individual hired under the contract to access classified information or to have sensitive law enforcement or national security duties”; and in connection with other positions to be identified in regulations that will be issued no later than April 2021.
