The ordinance excludes “positions where employers are required to exclude applicants with certain criminal convictions from employment due local, state, or federal law or regulations.” Under Section 38-1(31), “criminal history” means a record of a conviction, or a plea of guilty or no contest, to a violation of a federal or state criminal statute or municipal ordinance; records of arrests not followed by a valid conviction; convictions which have been, pursuant to law, annulled or expunged; pleas of guilty without conviction; convictions for which a person received a suspended impositions of sentence; and misdemeanor convictions where no jail sentence can be imposed.
The new Kansas City ordinance makes it unlawful for employers to
- Base a hiring or promotional decision on an applicant’s criminal history or sentence, unless the employer can demonstrate that the decision was based on all information available including consideration of the frequency, recency, and severity of a criminal record and that the record was reasonably related to the duties and responsibilities of the position; and
- Inquire about an applicant’s criminal history until after it was determined that the individual is otherwise qualified for the position, and only after the applicant has been interviewed for the position. Such inquiry may be made of all applicants who are within the final selection pool of candidates from which a job will be filled.
The ordinance will be effective on June 9, 2018.
What This Means to You:
- This applies to all employers in the City of Kansas City, MO who employ six or more people.
- Employers may not inquire about an applicant’s criminal history until after the interview.
- Employers may not base their employment decision on an applicant’s criminal history unless the employer both considers all available information, including the recency, frequency, and severity of the criminal history, and determines that the criminal history is related to the job and responsibilities of the position.
The ordinance is accessible here for review: http://cityclerk.kcmo.org/LiveWeb/Documents/ Document.aspx?q=IHt5yW%2fwQpduyxYNDuTxlMQbdsERD1G%2fjjDf37FMsawqjhA1e Hf90k4dIT18NOZp
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About Michael Klazema The author
Michael Klazema is the lead author and editor for Dallas-based backgroundchecks.com with a focus on human resource and employment screening developments
