The Kansas City, Missouri, City Council recently passed restrictions on employers’ inquiries into, and use of, criminal record information. The ordinance becomes effective on June 9, 2018, and it applies to private employers with six or more employees.
Under the new ordinance, employers may not inquire about an applicant’s criminal history until after it has been determined that the individual is otherwise qualified for the position, and only after the applicant has been interviewed for the position. The inquiry may then be made of all applicants who are “within the final selection pool of candidates.”
The ordinance, however, is not just about employment application content or criminal record inquiries. Like recent laws in other jurisdictions, the ordinance also limits employers’ substantive hiring decisions. Similar to the EEOC’s guidance, the ordinance requires an employer basing a hiring or promotion decision on an applicant’s criminal history to be able to demonstrate that the decision was based on “all available information” including consideration of the frequency, recentness and severity of criminal record. Ultimately, employers may only take adverse action based on criminal record information if the offenses are “reasonably related to the duties and responsibilities of the position.” The ordinance does not apply, however, if the employer is required to exclude applicants with criminal convictions due to a local, state, or federal law or regulation.
Coverage: Kansas City, Missouri employers with six or more employees.
Effective: June 9, 2018
Action Required:
- Review job applications to remove questions about an applicant’s criminal history; and
- Establish a protocol for obtaining and considering criminal history information, performing individualized assessments of that information and notifying any applicant disqualified because of criminal history (review our Background Checks Toolkit available on FormSource in the pre-employment section for more information).