The New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) – which enforces New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) – has amended rules to establish definitions and procedures applying to the Fair Chance Act (FCA) that took effect in October of 2015 to amend the NYCHRL provisions regarding unlawful discrimination on the basis of criminal history against job applicants and employees, and applicants for licenses, registrations, and permits. The rules take effect August 5, 2017.
The New York City FCA rules establish definitions for “Applicant,” “Adverse Employment Action,” “Article 23-A Analysis,” “Article 23-A Factors,” “Business Day,” “Conditional Offer of Employment,” “Conviction History,” “Criminal Background Check,” “Criminal History,” “Direct Relationship,” “Domestic Partners,” “Fair Chance Process,” “Human Rights Law,” “Inquiry,” “Licensing Agency,” “Non-Convictions,” “Per Se Violation,” “Statement,” “Temporary Help Firms,” and “Terms and Conditions.” The rules also:
Establish per se violations, as defined by these rules, of the new provisions added to the Human Rights Law by the FCA.
Clarify the types of questions and statements relating to criminal history that are prohibited by the FCA.
Explain the meaning of a conditional offer and establishes the limited circumstances under which an employer can revoke a conditional offer.
Explain what an employer should do if they inadvertently learn about an applicant’s criminal history prior to making a conditional offer.
Clarify the procedure that an employer must follow upon learning of an applicant’s or employee’s criminal history and what steps must be taken before revoking a conditional offer or taking an adverse employment action. FULL ARTICLE