Press Releases

With the New Year come potential new laws that could affect pre-employment background screening and, with these potential changes, hiring managers should immediately review hiring policies with a well-qualified third-party background screening agency. Adam Almeida, President and CEO of CriminalBackgroundRecords .com opines: “Every year new laws change pre-employment background screening and 2019 will be no different; and, subsequently, hiring managers should work with a third-party background screening agency in order to help them remain fully compliant with existing and new laws governing pre-employment screening.”


With the New Year laws governing pre-employment background screening will change and 2019 will prove no different than any other year insomuch new ban-the-box laws will be fully enacted or recently announced. Adam Almeida, President and CEO of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com states: “New ban-the-box laws are in play across the country, some new, some changed, but the point is hiring managers should immediately be alerted to work with a third-party pre-employment background screening company in order to stay fully compliant with new, altered, and existing laws governing background screening and, specifically, the use of criminal background records.
Elections in 2018 changed Colorado’s state government and have created an opportunity to revive Ban-the-Box legislation efforts that had previously failed to gain traction. In January political control changed.

Adam Almeida, President and CEO of CriminalBackgroundRecords.com states: “Many governmental sectors have Ban-the-Box laws, but Colorado is seeking to join a growing number of states that regulate the public sector with ban-the-box laws.”

Ban-the-box legislation mandates the removal of any question of criminal history from the initial employment application. While there are certain employment roles that would still demand such a question, a majority will not.

Almeida states: “Any time there is a change or a proposed change in law employers should take note. Not all ban-the-box laws are the same and failure to comply could be a costly mistake.”

From theJournal.com (Jan. 08, 19):

These rules are already in place for government employers in Colorado and 32 other states. But as of 2016, there were about 1.8 million Coloradans with criminal records, according to a Department of Justice Survey, and having to check that little box on job applications can often effectively disqualify them for contention. (1)

Massachusetts, one of the earliest implementers of Ban-the-Box legislation, has recently tightened the Ban-the-Box law.

Almeida states: “Massachusetts reformed its Ban-the-Box law by changing how misdemeanors are reported, eliminating reportage of any sealed or expunged criminal records, and creating very specific language when asking about criminal history; highlighting yet another example as to why employers should review hiring policies.”

A recent article posted to JDSupra’s website surmises the changing and evolving legal landscape in background screening.

From JDSupra.com (Jan. 03, 19):

…And, even for those employers without Massachusetts’ interests, this is a good time to review employment application documents and procedures to ensure compliance with the country’s patchwork of “Ban the Box” laws. (2)

Almeida concludes: “With the onset of a new year political changes take effect and laws governing background screening could change and all employers should ensure their hiring policies remain fully compliant and a best practice to achieve this is to work with a well-qualified third-party employment screening agency.

CriminalBackgroundRecords.com is a third-party employment screening company with highly trained operators well versed in the needs and requirements of companies and organizations large and small utilizing public records, such as criminal records, as part of a hiring process.