Thomson Reuters Practical Law recently featured a Retail Labor and Employment Law blog post, titled, “New Jersey Strengthens 'Ban the Box' Protections for Applicants,” authored by Gregory D. Green, an Associate in the Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice, in the firm’s Newark office.
Following is an excerpt:
On December 20, 2017 New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie signed a bi-partisan bill that effectively makes asking about expunged criminal records off-limits during the initial employment application process.
The law, an amendment to the New Jersey Opportunity to Compete Act (“OTCA”), generally referred to as the “Ban the Box” law, applies to employers with 15 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks who do business, employ persons, or take applications for employment within New Jersey. The OTCA generally prohibits employers from making any oral or written inquiry about an applicant’s criminal background during the initial employment application process.
The amendment, which became effective with signing, goes farther. Now, covered employers are barred from seeking information about the current and expunged criminal records of applicants during the early stages of the employment application process. In addition to barring employers from making oral or written inquiries, the amendment also bars employers from doing online searches for an applicant’s criminal record or expunged criminal record.