Officially, federal agencies and contractors can no longer request a job applicant’s criminal record, at least until they make a conditional job offer.
It is a practice that many agencies have already adopted, but new ones… final regulation The Office of Personnel Management expanded efforts and made it an official standard. OPM first proposed regulations in 2022.
Specifically, OPM’s final rules detail the implementation of the Fair Chance Act, a bill enacted as part of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation expanded OPM’s initial “ban the box” policy from 2016.
The goal of the new OPM rules is to expand opportunities in the federal sector for people who have been incarcerated. It is also a goal that the The Biden administration outlined During Second Chance Month in April, President Joe Biden’s 2021 executive order on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initially gave OPM new authorities to evaluate and expand federal contracting opportunities for formerly incarcerated individuals.
“If you have the qualifications, skills and willingness to serve the American public, you deserve a fair opportunity to compete for employment within the federal government,” OPM Director Kiran Ahuja said in a statement Thursday.
OPM’s final regulations are far from the first step agencies have taken to expand ban-the-box opportunities. In 2022, the Department of Justice will He brought back two employees who had been incarcerated as part of the department’s Second Chance Fellows program. Following suit, the Department of Education also Launch plans a scholarship program to attract its own Second Chance Scholars.
In addition to the federal government, 28 states have “ban the box” laws that similarly limit or eliminate consideration of criminal records in hiring, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
In particular, OPM can still approve some exceptions to the new regulations, for example, in cases where agencies are hiring for positions that involve interactions with minors, access to sensitive information or handling financial transactions.
As part of the final rules, job applicants now have a process to report agency violations or otherwise hold federal employees accountable for violating the Fair Chance Act. OPM’s final rules also detail appeal procedures that agency employees can pursue if an applicant alleges a violation of the Fair Chance Act.
Depending on the severity of the violation, adverse actions may include written warnings, suspensions without pay and civil penalties, OPM said. In more serious cases, employees found to have violated the Fair Chance Act may appeal their case to the Merit Systems Protection Board.
Currently, OPM does not have data showing the impact of the current “ban the box” rules on the agency’s contracting processes. In its proposed regulations last year, OPM requested public comment on what data the agency should collect to better enforce the regulations.
Several organizations recommended that OPM collect information on how many applicants receive conditional offers, how many of those applicants have criminal records, the number of applicants with records who later had an agency job offer rescinded, the types of convictions for which the offers were rescinded, how many applicants with records were hired, the positions for which they were hired, and demographic information.
OPM said it is now formulating a strategy for future data collection in these areas.
Moving forward, OPM plans to collaborate with the Chief Diversity Executive Council and the Chief Human Capital Officers Council (CHCO) to help establish agency-specific work plans, leadership groups, and metrics to try to increase federal employment opportunities for workers with criminal histories.
He final regulation OPM’s applications are scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on September 1.
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