INDUSTRY NEWS
NYC Commission on Human Rights clarifies applicability of new background screening laws
NYC Commission on Human Rights: New “ban the box” and credit report laws do not apply extraterritorially—NYC must be the “locus of the job.”
On Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, Cornell University’s ILR School Labor and Employment Law Program hosted “NYC Ban the Box and Stop Credit Discrimination: A Conversation on Enforcement with the City Commission on Human Rights.”
One key takeaway from the session was clarification on exactly which employers are subject to the new laws. According to Proskauer's Law and the Workplace blog, the Commission stated that neither the Fair Chance Act (FCA) nor the Stop Credit Discrimination in Employment Act (SCDEA) apply extraterritorially. The laws apply when the position is in New York City or the job requires the individual to be in New York City such that New York City is the “locus of the job.” It generally does not apply to New York City residents applying for jobs outside the city, even if the company’s headquarters and HR team are based in New York City.