On June 10, 2015, the New York City Council passed the Fair Chance Act (the “FCA”), which makes it a violation of the New York City Human Rights Law for employers (with at least four employees) to ask about an applicant’s criminal conviction background prior to making a conditional offer of employment. This means that employers will have to remove any questions about criminal convictions (pre-employment arrest questions are already banned) from their job applications.

Under the FCA, employers will be able to ask about a person’s criminal background and perform criminal background checks, but only after the offer of employment has been made. If, after making the criminal background inquiry, an employer decides to withdraw the offer of employment, it must give the applicant a written explanation of the reason for its action along with a copy of the documents upon which the decision was based. Thereafter, the employer must hold open the position for at least three business days for the applicant to provide a response.

The FCA will not require an employer to hire a person with criminal convictions.

The FCA is currently on the Mayor’s desk for signature. It will likely go into effect 120 days after it is enacted. The City Council’s passage of the FCA comes close on the heels of its passage of another bill, which is now being termed the Consumer Credit Act, making it unlawful for an employer to use an individual’s consumer credit history in making employment decisions. The Consumer Credit Act becomes effective on September 3, 2015.

Pryor Cashman’s Labor and Employment Department will be providing further detailed guidance on both of these laws in the days to come, and is available to answer any questions.