Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act Creates Federal Ban the Box Law for Federal Contractors
January 09, 2020
Effective December 20, 2021, federal contractors will be prohibited from inquiring-either directly or through a background screening process-into an applicant’s criminal background until after the contractor extends a conditional job offer to the applicant. The law will only impact those applicants seeking employment in positions related to “work under” the federal contract. Furthermore, the law will not prohibit pre-offer criminal background inquiries related to contracts where criminal background checks are otherwise required by law, where the contract requires an individual hired to work under the contract to access classified information or to have sensitive law enforcement or national security duties or in connection with other positions that will be identified in regulations to be issued by the federal Office of Personnel Management no later than April 20, 2021.
