With every change to laws governing the use of criminal history reports during the Covid-19 pandemic hiring managers and HR departments should ensure continued compliance by working with a well-qualified third-party pre-employment background screening agency.

In 1998 Hawaii enacted the first ban-the-box legislation in the United States, becoming the example for all legislation to follow. On September 15, 2020 Hawaii further enforced their anti-discrimination policies by updating existing ban-the-box law.

From Lexology.com on September 16, 2020:

Hawaii has long had a law limiting the discretion that employers have to consider older criminal conviction records in making employment decisions. Effective September 15, 2020, SB 2193 prevents most private sector employers from considering conviction records within the last 10 years, but only convictions within seven years for felony convictions, and five years for misdemeanor convictions, excluding periods of incarceration.1 Hawaii shortened the 10-year lookback period “to reduce unnecessary employment discrimination against individuals with old and relatively minor conviction records, in furtherance of economic self-sufficiency, and to reduce crime and recidivism rates.” ^{lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=066c4e32-6f76-4227-ae05-e11cb50b9380}

The amendment to Hawaii’s ban-the-box law shows how laws can change and with change hiring managers and HR departments should be sure that pre-employment background screening policies are current and compliant. Hawaii’s change exemplifies why vetting policies must be continuously reviewed. Even during these times employment screening is still necessary and imperative in the USA.

To read more about this subject read recent press release: Criminal History Records Need Not Hold One Back