伊利诺伊州的雇主应注意最近由州长 JB Pritzker 签署成为法律的立法。该立法以前称为参议院法案 (SB) 1480，对与就业相关的犯罪背景调查设置了重大限制。发现违反法律的雇主将因侵犯公民权利而被传唤——公司和组织可以通过尽快审查 SB 1480 并采用新政策来确保合规性来避免这种责任风险。
SB 1480 不是一项全新的法律；该立法修订了先前存在的伊利诺伊州人权法。该立法规定，雇主在雇佣决定中使用候选人的犯罪历史是违反州民权法的，但有一些例外。
第一个例外是，如果雇主可以证明候选人的犯罪历史与手头的工作之间存在“实质性关系”。
SB 1480 将“实质性关系”定义为“发生相同或类似罪行”的工作领域的“机会”，或“[工作的]情况导致该人被定罪的行为的可能性” 。” 除非雇主能够就候选人过去的犯罪活动为何可能因职位职责而再次发生提供合理的论据，否则雇主不能基于犯罪历史取消候选人的考虑。
第二个例外是，如果雇主可以证明雇用有犯罪历史的候选人会对财产或他人（包括客户、其他员工和公众）的安全构成“不合理的风险”。
除了这些例外，SB 1480 更新了伊利诺伊州人权法，在法律上要求雇主在尝试确定候选人的犯罪历史是否满足其中一个例外时考虑六个减轻处罚因素。
雇主必须考虑自候选人被定罪以来已经过去了多长时间；候选人的记录有多少定罪；定罪的性质和严重程度，及其与整体安全和安保风险的关系；候选人被定罪时的年龄；是否有证据表明候选人已采取康复措施。
最后，希望根据犯罪背景调查取消候选人资格的雇主必须与候选人进行 SB 1840“互动评估”。
如果雇主认为企业有理由因犯罪记录而禁止求职者就业，则该雇主必须首先向求职者提供初步决定的书面通知。然后，候选人至少有五个工作日的时间来回复有关其背景的其他信息或解释。
在做出最终雇佣决定之前，雇主必须花时间考虑候选人的反应。如果雇主确实决定采取不利行动，企业必须向候选人发送第二份通知，解释聘用决定的原因，并告知候选人他们有权通过伊利诺伊州人力资源部提出歧视索赔权利，如果他们认为合适的话。
这些想法对于招聘和背景调查来说并不新鲜。SB 1840 对伊利诺伊州人权法的更新纳入了平等就业机会委员会的指导，要求雇主发现候选人的犯罪历史与工作之间存在“实质性关系”，以及《公平信用报告法》中的现有要求和协议通知候选人有关不利行动的信息。
尽管对这些类型的政策很熟悉，但新立法应引发伊利诺伊州所有雇主对犯罪背景调查和招聘政策的审查。
SB 1840 增加了伊利诺伊州公司的责任风险和不合规的总体成本。这些新限制在普利兹克州长于 3 月 23 日签署该法案后立即生效，这意味着它们目前是完全可执行的。
要了解有关 FCRA 要求的更多信息，请阅读我们资源中心的帮助文章。
SB 1480 is not a brand-new law; the legislation amends the pre-existing Illinois Human Rights Act. The legislation has made it a violation of state civil rights law for employers to use a candidate’s criminal history in employment decisions, with some exceptions.
The first exception is if the employer can show that there is a “substantial relationship” between the candidate’s criminal history and the job at hand.
SB 1480 defines “substantial relationship” as an “opportunity” in the line of work “for the same or a similar offense to occur,” or the likelihood of “circumstances [of the job] leading to the conduct for which the person was convicted.” Unless employers can show a reasonable argument for why a candidate’s past criminal activity is likely to recur due to the duties of the position, the employer cannot disqualify the candidate from consideration based on criminal history.
The second exception is if the employer can show that hiring a candidate with a criminal history would pose “unreasonable risk” to property or the safety of others (including customers, other employees, and the public).
In addition to these exceptions, SB 1480 updates the Illinois Human Rights Act by legally requiring employers to consider six mitigating factors when trying to determine whether a candidate’s criminal history satisfies one of the exceptions.
The employer must consider how much time has elapsed since the candidate’s conviction(s); how many convictions the candidate has on their record; the nature and severity of the conviction, and its relationship to overall safety and security risks; how old the candidate was when they were convicted of the crime; and whether there is evidence that the candidate has taken steps towards rehabilitation.
Finally, employers that wish to disqualify candidates based on criminal background checks must go through an SB 1840 “interactive assessment” with the candidate.
If an employer decides that the business has grounds to bar a candidate from employment because of criminal history, that employer must first provide written notice to the candidate of the preliminary decision. The candidate then has at least five business days to respond with additional information or explanation about their background.
The employer must take time to consider the candidate’s response before making a final employment decision. If the employer does decide to move forward with an adverse action, the business must send a second notice to the candidate explaining the reason for the hiring decision and informing the candidate that they have the right to file a discrimination claim through the Illinois Department of Human Rights if they see fit to do so.
These ideas are not new to hiring and background checks. The SB 1840 updates to the Illinois Human Rights Act incorporate guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with the requirement that employers find a “substantial relationship” between a candidate’s criminal history and the job, and existing requirements in the Fair Credit Reporting Act with the protocol for notifying candidates about adverse action.
Despite the familiarity of these types of policies, the new legislation should trigger a review of criminal background checks and hiring policies by all employers in Illinois.
SB 1840 has increased the liability risk and overall cost of noncompliance for Illinois companies. These new restrictions took effect immediately upon Governor Pritzker’s signing of the bill on March 23, which means that they are currently fully enforceable.
To learn more about FCRA requirements, read the help article in our resource center.
