IL Ban the Box: A Break Down

Within the last week Illinois Governor Quinn signed the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act also known as Ban the Box.

What does this Act do? First, it bans any questioning of criminal histories from the application process. Secondly, it allows you to only question the applicant when two steps are met. (a) The applicant is qualified for the position and (b) you must notify the applicant that they were selected for an interview. If there is not an interview, then you must wait until after a conditional offer of employment is made.

Who does the Act affect? Private employers and employment agencies, with 15 or more employees in the current or previous calendar year.

When does it go into effect? January 1, 2015.

What is the point of all this? The State’s goal in implementing this Act is that everyone will get a fair chance obtaining employment. It now mandates that employers look at the skills and qualifications of an applicant, before disqualifying them over their criminal history.

What, as an employer, should I do? Start making these changes now. Make sure if your corporate office is based outside of Illinois that they are aware of these changes for your hiring state so they can start updating corporate paperwork, applications, applicant tracking system verbiage, etc. Make sure your HR attorney reviews your current policies and practices. If your policy has not been updated to include the EEOC’s guidance for the use of criminal records¹, issued in 2012, it may be time for a complete revision.

If I fail to comply, what happens? The Illinois Dept. of Labor will investigate any alleged violations, and may issues written warnings all the way up to civil penalties.

Our company is mandated by other Federal or State laws which prohibit us from hiring individuals with certain convictions, no matter what their skills are. This Act allows for exemptions for these types of positions. Make sure you have reached out to your HR attorney and have the latest and current practices in play.

[1] EEOC Enforcement Guidance, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 04/25/2012

Written by: J. Chullen