If you're a job applicant or a New York City employer, you should be aware of the Fair Chance Act, which limits employers' ability to run criminal background checks on job applicants. The "Act" went into effect on Oct. 27, 2015, and it applies to employers with four or more individuals.

The Act amends the New York City Human Rights Law by prohibiting employers from inquiring about a job applicant's criminal history until after the employer has made a conditional offer of employment.

Under this new legislation, it is an unlawful "discriminatory" practice for an employer to take an adverse action against an employee because he or she has been convicted of a crime.

Additionally, employers are not able to reject a job applicant because they presumably lack good moral character due to their criminal conviction. NYC employers cannot deny employment or take adverse actions against applicants based on accusations of criminal conduct or arrests that did not lead to a conviction.

How the "Act" Affects Employers

Employers are affected by the Act in several ways, including:

• When soliciting for employment, employers cannot express any limitations relating to criminal history, and this includes arrests or convictions.
• During the job application process, employers may not make statements about arrests or convictions, nor can they inquire about them.

Under the Act, the only time that employers may inquire about arrests or convictions is after they have made a conditional offer of employment.

If the employer decides to revoke the offer of employment, the decision must be supported by evidence that the criminal conviction is related to the employment sought. Or, the act of issuing employment would involve an unreasonable risk to property or the public.

If you are facing criminal charges and concerned about how a conviction would affect your livelihood and your career, contact a criminal defense attorney for aggressive legal representation.