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Three Top Legislative Trends in Employment for 2025

Employers want to ensure they are hiring the right candidates who will have a lasting, positive impact on their organization. Employment screening is a critical process for organizations to ensure they hire qualified and trustworthy individuals. However, recent legislative trends have significantly impacted how employers conduct these screenings. This blog post will explore some of the top legislative trends impacting hiring and background screening, focusing on fair chance laws, pay transparency, and new privacy laws.

 

Fair Chance Laws 

Fair chance laws aim to provide individuals with criminal histories a fair opportunity to secure employment. These laws typically prohibit employers from inquiring about an applicant’s criminal history until later in the hiring process. The goal is to allow candidates to be evaluated based on their qualifications rather than their past mistakes. These laws may also be identified as Ban the Box, Clean Slate, or Expungement Legislation. 

 

Common Aspects of Fair Chance Laws: 

1. Ban the Box: Employers cannot include questions about criminal history on job applications. 
2. Individualized Assessments: Employers must assess each candidate’s criminal history individually, considering factors such as the nature of the offense and its relevance to the job. 
3. Interactive Processes: Some laws require employers to engage in an interactive process with candidates to discuss their criminal history and any mitigating factors. 

 

Recent Developments: 

• Los Angeles County Fair Chance (Ordinance No. 2024-0012): Effective September 3, 2024, this ordinance applies to employers with five or more employees in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. It requires written assessments and specific timelines for responding to candidates. 
• San Diego County Fair Chance Ordinance: Effective October 10, 2024, this ordinance applies to employers with five or more employees. It prohibits certain actions before extending a conditional offer and requires written individualized assessments. 
• Prince George’s County Ban-the-Box Ordinance (CB78-2017): Effective September 16, 2024, this ordinance applies to employers with ten or more full-time employees and restricts inquiries about criminal history until after the initial interview. 
• Additional jurisdictions with new Fair Chance legislation or recent updates to existing laws include Pennsylvania (HB 689) , Colorado (SB22-099), California (SB 731), Minnesota Clean Slate Act, Delaware Clean Slate Act, and New York Clean Slate Act.   

 

Pay Transparency 

Pay transparency laws are designed to promote pay equity by requiring employers to disclose compensation information. These laws aim to ensure that individuals are paid fairly, regardless of their race, gender, or other protected characteristics. 

 

Common Aspects of Pay Transparency Laws: 

1. Disclosure of Pay Ranges: Employers must include pay ranges and benefits information in job postings. 
2. Internal and External Postings: The laws apply to both internal and external job postings, ensuring current employees are aware of promotion opportunities. 
3. Record-Keeping Requirements: Employers must maintain records to demonstrate compliance with pay transparency laws. 
4. Prospective employers cannot inquire about prior pay history during the hiring process.  

 

Recent Developments: 

• Illinois Equal Pay Act Amendment: Effective January 1, 2025, this amendment requires employers with 15 or more employees to include pay ranges and benefits information in job postings. 
• Minnesota Pay Transparency Law: Effective January 1, 2025, this law requires employers with 30 or more employees to provide wage ranges in job postings. 
• Vermont Pay Transparency Law: Effective July 1, 2025, this law applies to employers with five or more employees and requires disclosure of compensation in job ads. 
• Massachusetts Pay Transparency Law: Effective August 1, 2025, this law requires private employers with at least 25 employees to post pay ranges for job positions. 
• New Jersey Pay Transparency Law: Effective June 1, 2025, this law requires employers with ten or more employees to disclose wage or salary ranges in job postings.
  

 

Emerging Privacy Laws 

Privacy laws are continuing to evolve, impacting how employers handle personal data during the employment screening process. These laws provide consumers with rights to access, correct, and delete their personal data, among other protections. 

 

Common Aspects of Privacy Laws: 

1. Consumer Data Rights: Rights to access, correct, delete, and port personal data. 
2. Sensitive Data Protections: Special protections for sensitive data, such as data indicating protected class (racial or origin data), health data, and biometric data. 
3. Opt-Out Mechanisms: Requirements for businesses to honor consumer opt-out requests. 

 

Recent Developments: 

• Minnesota Privacy Law (MCDPA): Requires consent to process sensitive data and includes provisions for automated profiling and artificial intelligence. 
• Maryland Privacy Law (PIPA): Prohibits the sale of sensitive data and protects consumers from discrimination for exercising their privacy rights. 
• Kentucky Privacy Law (24RS HB 15): Requires opt-in consent for processing sensitive data and defines the sale of personal data as for monetary consideration only. 
• Rhode Island Privacy Law (2024-H 7787A, 2024-S 2500): Requires opt-in consent for sensitive data and does not offer a cure period for violations. 

 

Conclusion 

The legislative landscape for hiring and employment screening is rapidly evolving, with significant changes in fair chance laws, pay transparency and privacy laws. Employers must stay informed and compliant with these new regulations to ensure fair and equitable hiring and onboarding practices. By understanding and adapting to these trends, organizations can create a more inclusive and transparent hiring process, ultimately benefiting both employers and job seekers. 

 

About AccuSourceHR:  

AccuSourceHR™ is a full-service employment screening organization headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Recognized as a PBSA-accredited, award-winning 20-year screening industry veteran, they are committed to continuously promoting a balance between affording innovative technology and providing comprehensive, consistent, US-based client care. This objective is reinforced by the belief every client is unique and deserves a customized program of quality background and drug screening solutions to meet their specific organizational goals. Their diverse, tenured team includes knowledgeable subject matter experts in key highly regulated and compliance-driven industries. AccuSourceHR strives to ensure every client views them as an extension of their organization’s human resources, safety, and risk mitigation teams. accusourcehr.com 

 

Cynthia Woods, Vice President of Marketing has over 25 years of experience in the employment background screening and legal industries. At AccuSourceHR, she is responsible for overseeing Marketing, Media, Communications, and Strategic Projects. Cynthia holds an MBA and is a member of the Professional Background Screeners Association (PBSA), where she serves on the Industry Practices and Government Relations committees. She holds Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Advanced certification and is a frequent guest speaker on compliance and optimal industry practices.