The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development issued its final regulations, which became effective on December 7, 2015, clarifying the requirements of its statewide Ban-the-Box law, also known as the Opportunity to Compete Act. The regulations clarify the intent of the Act, which took effect March 1, 2015.
Key provisions of the guidance that may cause difficulty for hiring firms include:
- Employers of 15 or more workers are covered, regardless of whether all their employees work in New Jersey.
- Internet searches regarding criminal records are not allowed during the initial employment application process.
- DWI/DUI and motor vehicle violation records are “criminal records” and therefore covered by the Act.
- Interns and apprentices are covered by the Act. Independent contractors that pass the Department of Labor’s ABC Test are not.
To learn more about these requirements and others contained in this guidance, we refer you to this article. To explore the issues regarding timing of background screening and explore recent news on the topic, we invite you to visit this Barada resource page.