Staying in compliance with all the Affordable Care Act (ACA) requirements can seem like a daunting task, especially when you are juggling new hires and current employees transitioning from part-time to full-time, eligible to ineligible and back again. In order to avoid a potential penalty under the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions of the ACA, you must offer affordable health care coverage to your full-time employees. 

Illinois has passed the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act. The Act provides that a private employer may not inquire into or require disclosure of a job applicant's criminal record or criminal history before the candidate has been notified that the candidate has been selected for a job interview or has been offered a conditional offer of employment. It requires consideration of the nature and gravity of a candidate's conviction record, the time elapsed since the conviction, and whether the conviction has a direct bearing on the candidate's fitness before excluding a candidate.