Loading...
(1) In connection with the licensing or employment of any person, it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for a City agency or private employer to knowingly and intentionally make any inquiry about or to take any adverse action against any person on the basis of any arrest or criminal accusation made against such person, which is not then pending against that person and which did not result in a conviction. It shall further be an unlawful discriminatory practice for a City agency or private employer to require any person to disclose or reveal any arrest or criminal accusation made against such person which is not then pending against that person and which did not result in a conviction.
(2) Nothing herein shall prevent an Employer from making an inquiry, or requiring an Employee to respond to an inquiry, about a Pending Criminal Charge, when the employer possesses reasonably reliable information to indicate a Pending Criminal Charge has been lodged against the Employee that relates to the particular duties of their job. Employers may require employees to report a Pending Criminal Charge, provided the Employer does so pursuant to a written policy detailing what offenses are reportable. An employer shall not take an adverse action against an Employee based on a Pending Criminal Charge unless the offense bears such relationship to the Employee's duties that the Employer may reasonably conclude that the Employee's continued Employment would present an unacceptable risk to the operation of the business or to co-workers or customers, and that exclusion of the Employee is compelled by business necessity. 1294
Notes
1294 | Added, Bill No. 200479 (approved January 20, 2021), effective April 1, 2021. |
§ 9-3504. Prohibition Against Unfair Discrimination Against Persons Previously Convicted of One or More Criminal Offenses. 1295
(1) In connection with the licensing or employment of any person, it shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for a City agency or private employer to make any inquiry regarding or to require any person to disclose or reveal any criminal convictions during the Employment Process, except as required by federal or state law. The inclusion of such inquiry on an employment application shall be unlawful, whether or not certain Applicants or Employees are told they need not answer the question. The inquiry prohibited by this Section shall include any question regarding the Applicant's or Employee's willingness to submit to a background check. When such inquiry is required by federal or state law, such inquiry shall be conducted only after a Conditional Offer of Employment has been extended to the Applicant or Employee.
(a) If an Applicant or Employee voluntarily discloses information regarding his or her criminal convictions during the Employment Process, the employer may discuss the criminal conviction disclosed by the Applicant or Employee at that time.
(b) An employer may give notice, to prospective Applicants or during the Employment Process, of its intent to conduct a criminal background check after any Conditional offer of employment, promotion or re-employment is made, provided that such notice shall be concise, accurate, made in good faith, and shall state that any consideration of the background check will be tailored to the requirements of the job.
(2) It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for a City agency or private employer to reject an Applicant or Employee based on a conviction that resulted in exoneration. 1296
(3) No employer shall maintain a policy of automatically excluding any Applicant or Employee with a criminal conviction from a job or class of jobs. A prospective employer shall not reject an Applicant or Employee based on his or her criminal record, unless: such record includes conviction for an offense that did not later result in exoneration; the conviction bears such relationship to the Employment sought that the employer may reasonably conclude that the Applicant or Employee would present an unacceptable risk to the operation of the business or to co-workers or customers; and that exclusion of the Applicant or Employee is compelled by business necessity. An employer shall make a determination regarding such risk only after reviewing the Applicant’s or Employee’s specific record and the particular job being sought, and conducting an individualized assessment of the risk presented. Such assessment shall include: 1297
(a) The nature of the offense;
(b) The time that has passed since the offense;
(c) The Applicant's or Employee's employment history before and after the offense and any period of incarceration;
(d) The particular duties of the job being sought;
(e) Any character or employment references provided by the Applicant or Employee; and
(f) Any evidence of the Applicant's or Employee's rehabilitation since the conviction.
(4) A City agency or private employer may consider, for employment purposes, an Applicant's or Employee's conviction record only to the extent that the conviction did not result in exoneration and occurred fewer than seven (7) years from the date of the inquiry. Any period of incarceration shall not be included in the calculation of the seven (7) year period. 1298
Notes
1295 | |
1296 | Added, Bill No. 230571 (approved December 20, 2023). |
1297 | Amended, Bill No. 230571 (approved December 20, 2023). |
1298 | Amended, Bill No. 230571 (approved December 20, 2023). |
If an employer rejects an Applicant or Employee for a job opening based in whole or in part on criminal record information, the employer shall notify the applicant in writing of such decision and its basis, and shall provide the Applicant or Employee with a copy of the criminal history report. The employer shall allow the Applicant or Employee ten (10) business days to provide evidence of the inaccuracy of the information or to provide an explanation.
Notes
1299 |
(1) The prohibitions of this Chapter shall not apply if the inquiries or adverse actions prohibited herein are specifically authorized or mandated by any other applicable law or regulation. 1300
(2) The prohibitions of this Chapter shall not apply to a Criminal Justice Agency as defined herein.
(3) Nothing in this Chapter shall modify or waive the requirements and limitations on the use of criminal records in Pennsylvania pursuant to 18 Pa. C.S. § 9125, or the limitation on the effect of juvenile adjudications pursuant to 42 Pa. C.S. § 6354. 1301
Notes
1300 | Amended, Bill No. 150815 (approved December 15, 2015), effective March 14, 2016. |
1301 | Amended, Bill No. 180368 (approved June 20, 2018). |
Loading...