Amendments to New York City’s Fair Chance Act (FCA) have now become law, going into effect in late-July and significantly expanding employment protections for applicants and employees with criminal charges or arrests. Effective in October 2015, the city’s FCA prohibits NYC employers from making an inquiry about an applicant’s criminal conviction record until after a conditional offer of employment has been extended and requires employers to balance numerous factors as part of their analysis of the job-relatedness of the conviction. Employers also are prohibited from searching publicly available sources to obtain criminal history information prior to a conditional offer. Amendments include a requirement for employers to solicit information on all FCA factors as part of their job-related analysis; a requirement for employers to engage in a job-related analysis before disqualifying an applicant or taking an adverse job action based on an employee’s pending criminal offense; a requirement for employers to follow the FCA process for a pending criminal matter and provide a notice setting forth the substantive basis for any disqualification decision and review any responsive information timely submitted by the applicant or employee, among others.
