Questions & Answers:
Under Ban the Box, is the best practice to always conduct a background check after extending the verbal conditional offer?
You must wait until after the conditional offer of employment is made before doing the check.
You mentioned "ban the box" in California...would the same rules apply for other states? We have an applicant that we have run a background check on, no offer has been extended and he has 3 DWI's. That has some of our managers concerned. What are we allowed to do?
If you are going to deny the employment, you should write down in your notes the reasons why a DWI relate to the work he would be performing at your business and why you are denying.
Does the new salary law prohibit CA employers from giving out salary information when contacted to verify previous employee's job history
Yes. You should never provide salary information; only dates of employment and title.
We're a grant-funded non-profit that supports public education, grades 1-4. Background checks are required for our funding (AmeriCorps and CNCS, plus others).
That is ok; but you need to indicate that fact during the interview process.
Are most of these new laws primarily related to California?
Yes.
re Ban the Box - we do not ask about conviction history on our application. However, in order to work for our company, an applicant/employee must be able to obtain a Permanent Employee Registration Card through the state of IL. Felonies will disqualify someone from receiving a PERC as stated in the IL statute. Can we search a public site for felony information to rule them out before interviewing?
Yes.
The FMLA leave and 12 weeks leave is applicable to all states or just the state of California?
Applicable to states.