

Done right, hiring can be a fair and orderly process that results in a promising new hire – and the help your business needs. Handled incorrectly, however, it can open the door to discrimination and land you in legal hot water.
At every stage of employment -- from placing job advertisements to conducting interviews -- you must comply with federal, state and even local anti-discrimination laws. Key among them is Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against the legally protected characteristics of race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
What about your job applications? An important tool in your hiring process, job applications must follow certain legal parameters to avoid discrimination. Ask the wrong types of questions, or overlook mandatory disclosures, and your job applications could do more harm than help.
Perhaps one of the biggest and fastest-growing legal requirements with job applications today, “ban the box” refers to the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” If your state or city has passed ban the box legislation, you can’t inquire about an applicant’s criminal record until the job interview – or, in some cases, after the applicant is qualified and offered a position. By delaying this type of questioning until later in the hiring process, ban the box legislation helps support a fairer and broader job market for the millions of people with criminal backgrounds.
As of January 2017, 24 states and more than 100 cities restrict criminal history questions on job applications. Depending on the state, the law may apply only to public employers, or to both public and private employers.
These 15 states ban the box with public employers only:
Nine states ban the box with public and private employers:
If you’re in California, you should be aware that your state has additional restrictions with criminal history questioning. As of January 1, 2017, you’re prohibited from asking applicants about juvenile records or using this information to make employment decisions.
For all ban the box states, it’s important to understand that you’re still allowed to conduct a background check on an otherwise-qualified individual. Also, you’re not required to hire an individual with a criminal record. Rather, you must make every effort to shift the criminal history inquiry from the initial application stage to later in the hiring process.
Additional considerations: Ban the box laws may restrict questions about certain types of convictions, barring questions about non-conviction arrests or expunged records. Also, certain industries and jobs are exempt, such as positions in child care, health care, law enforcement and finance.
You’re using a job application that meets your state’s ban the box requirements. All set, right? Not so fast. Other items you shouldn’t ask or allude to with job applications are:
In addition to what your job applications CAN’T include, there’s the matter of what they can and SHOULD include. To comply with the various federal and state laws that apply to the hiring process, you should only use job applications with:
The importance of using sound, attorney-approved job applications can’t be overstated. Otherwise, you could be accused of discrimination – and seriously undermine your company’s well-intentioned hiring efforts. To ensure a proper legal approach from start to finish, use state-specific job applications that satisfy all the requirements – and check out the on-demand webinar "Hire with Confidence: How to Comply with 'Ban the Box' and Other Trending Hiring Laws" for additional guidance.
ComplyRight creates practical products and services to help small businesses complete essential HR and tax reporting tasks in an efficient and legally sound manner. From hiring to firing, to mandatory employee postings, to 1099 and W-2 processing, our solutions are guaranteed to be 100% compliant with federal and state (and in some cases, local) employment laws. Our direct brands include HRdirectapps.com (simple and smart online HR software), PosterTracker.com (complete range of ComplyRight posting solutions), efile4biz.com (online 1099, W-2 and ACA form processing), and HRdirect.com (leading provider of ComplyRight HR products).
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