For nearly a decade, Chicago has maintained a “ban-the-box” ordinance restricting employer’s use of criminal records in employment screening. This ordinance largely mirrored the requirements of Illinois’ state-wide Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act (JOQAA), albeit with some important differences.
Illinois law on this subject has since been amended substantially, and on April 24, 2023, the City of Chicago followed suit by publishing an amended ban-the-box ordinance that takes immediate effect. Chicago’s new ordinance: (1) creates a new individualized assessment requirement; (2) requires a pre-adverse and final adverse action notice when employers are assessing criminal records; and (3) requires additional language in an adverse action notice.
Prior Restrictions
Since 2015, Chicago’s ban-the-box ordinance has placed restrictions on employers similar to those imposed by the Illinois JOQAA, but with three key departures:
First, Chicago’s ordinance has an expanded scope, applying to employers of any size with a business facility within the City of Chicago, or to those employers subject to Chicago’s licensing requirements. The Illinois JOQAA, on the other hand, applies only to employers with 15 or more employees.
Second, employers must inform applicants of the basis for a rejection if that decision is based in whole or in part on the applicant’s criminal history.
And third, the Chicago ordinance provides steeper penalties, including fines of up to $1,000 per...
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