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NYC Fair Chance Proposed Amendments
August 16th, 2024 | Chris Christian, Director of Compliance
The New York City Commission on Human Rights (the “Commission”) is proposing to amend its rules governing employment discrimination based on criminal history. The Commission will hold a virtual public hearing on the proposed rule. The public hearing will take place at 11:00am on Thursday, September 5, 2024. Deadline to submit comments on the proposed rule amendments is by Wednesday, September 4, 2024, by 11:59pm EST.
Scope of Proposed Amendments
The New York City Commission on Human Rights is proposing to amend its rules concerning prohibitions on employment discrimination based on criminal history to account for amendments to the Human Rights Law pursuant to Local Law 4 of 2021, in addition to other clarifying changes.
Key notable changes to the Human Rights law, include but not limited to are:
- Extending from 3 to 5 business days the time that employers, employment agencies, and their agents must allow job applicants to respond to a Fair Chance Employment Analysis of their criminal history.
- Adding new protections for people with certain types of cases, including pending criminal cases, unsealed violations, unsealed non-criminal offenses, and adjournments in contemplation of dismissal.
- Adding new Fair Chance Employment protections for current employees.
- Removing the early resolution process for Commission-initiated Fair Chance Employment complaints to make the enforcement of Fair Chance Employment protections consistent with that of other protections under the Human Rights Law and reflect that the Law has been in effect for a significant amount of time.
Background
On December 10, 2020, the New York City Council passed Int. 1314-A, Prohibiting Discrimination Based on One’s Arrest Record, Pending Criminal Accusations or Criminal Convictions (the “Amendments”) to amend the City’s Fair Chance Act (“FCA”). Sterling previously reported on these Amendments and later reported again on new guidance clarification released by the New York City Commission on Human Rights related to the New York’s Fair Chance Act and the Amendments in December 2020. While the future of the amendment process is uncertain, Sterling will be monitoring the process and outcome.
The Information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Sterling is not a law firm, and none of the information contained in this notice is intended as legal advice. Clients are encouraged to consult with their legal counsel about the impacts of any requirements. This and other important legislative updates can be found on the Sterling website: https://www.sterlingcheck.com/resources/compliance-updates/
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