The Office of Personnel Management announced Thursday that it is making several adjustments to the federal government's “ban” policy that prohibits agencies from asking job applicants about their criminal history until the hiring process is complete.
The Obama administration first enacted a policy in 2016 that administratively prohibited federal agencies from asking most job applicants about their criminal records until the conditional offer stage of the hiring process. However, in 2019, President Trump signed the Fair Competition Opportunity Act into law. This codified the policy and expanded it to apply to federal contractors. OPM issued regulations implementing this measure last fall.
OPM Director Kiran Ahuja provided guidance on how these new regulations should work in practice in a memo to top agency officials on Thursday. First, she said jobs that require government agencies to ask questions about possible criminal history before extending a job offer, jobs that require a security clearance, are classified as “highly sensitive” by OPM and the Director of National Intelligence and Attorney General. It reiterated that exemptions from the ban exist for occupations that are considered to be. Executive and dual status military engineer.
However, under the law, agencies can no longer request exemptions for positions that fall outside of these standards. However, for positions that have already been granted an exemption by OPM, we may continue to ask applicants about their criminal history before offering them a conditional job offer.
“Exceptions previously granted by OPM remain in effect for approved positions (title, series, grade),” the agency wrote in its FAQ. “With approved exceptions, government agencies are permitted to collect criminal history from applicants for their positions in advance.” [a] A conditional offer will be made at the time specified in the agency's request as long as the work-related need for which the request was made continues to exist. ”
Mr. Ahuja told agencies that they cannot ask for information in writing or verbally about a job candidate's criminal history, publicize the prohibitions in job advertisements, and tell applicants how to complain about possible violations of the rules. He called attention to the need to give instructions. , another new provision included in the 2019 law. And if a job applicant volunteers information about their criminal history, hiring managers should set that detail aside until authorized to consider it.
“For positions subject to the requirements of the Fair Chance Act, if the applicant provides prior criminal history information; [a] In the case of conditional job offers, agencies should consider the intent of the Fair Chance Act. “The Act will further ensure that applicants from all segments of society, including those with criminal records, receive a fair opportunity to compete for federal employment,” OPM wrote. . “[Agency] An individual's criminal history should not be considered in qualification or employment decisions unless permission is specifically granted to collect criminal history information in advance. [a] This is a conditional job offer. ”
Mr. Ahuja called on government agencies to develop and distribute policies regarding the handling of criminal history information in the hiring process to ensure that all employees comply with the new regulations.
“Agencies should establish and publish well-documented procedures for meeting this requirement and share them widely with human resources or security personnel whose roles may interact with applicants during the pre-offer stage. “There is a need,” Ahuja wrote. “Government agencies must educate their employees and contractors about their responsibilities under this law. This will help prevent employees from violating the provisions of the law, and this will infringe on the rights of applicants. However, if an employee makes a complaint and the facts are discovered, he or she may be subject to adverse action.
