N.J. ‘ban-the-box’ law will likely affect the way New York City does business

New Jersey recently passed a new “ban-the-box” law, which prohibits private employers in the state from asking job applicants if they have been previously convicted of a crime at the beginning of the application process. New Jersey is only the sixth state to pass ban-the-box laws that affect private businesses as well as public employers. Meanwhile, with New York City so close to the New Jersey border — and with so many businesses running branches in both the Big Apple and the Garden State — Law360 began speculating about how New Jersey’s attempt to give reformed convicts a better shot at acquiring jobs will affect those employers who run businesses across state borders. The true conflict, of course, is that some New York cities already having their own ban-the-box policies, and businesses that operate in both states are finding themselves caught between two — or more — employment policies. Both Buffalo and Rochester, New York, have laws that prevent asking job candidates about their criminal histories, and it appears ban-the-box laws are gaining traction in the state’s largest city as well. What’s a multi-state employer to do? According to employment law attorney Erin Sylvester Torcello, “Most employers probably would default to what the most strict rule is.” Torcello says that if a company has a branch in New Jersey and one in New York, they’d likely choose the tougher law, and make it common practice across state lines. This prevents the company from having to keep up with multiple hiring policies, and ensures compliance in both states. New York state currently holds that public and private businesses may ask about criminal backgrounds during the application, but that they may not eliminate a candidate based solely on their past. “I think employers should be able to ask the question,” said Barbara E. Hoey, the chair of the employment practice group Kelley Drye & Warren. “But they should not consider the question as a bar to the job. Employers are not out there trying to exclude people. They’re really just out there trying to run a business.” If New York City does pass its own ban-the-box law, the state may feel pressure to enact statewide legislation to prevent discrimination against those with a criminal history.]]>