Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Senate File 2319 - Introduced
                                  SENATE FILE 2319
                                  BY BENNETT
                            A BILL FOR
An Act prohibiting employers and employment agencies from
  seeking the criminal record or criminal history from
  applicants for employment under certain circumstances,
  establishing a criminal history employment application task
  force, providing penalties, and including effective date
  provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:
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                            DIVISION I
    PROHIBITED HIRING PRACTICES —— CRIMINAL RECORD OR CRIMINAL
                             HISTORY
    Section 1. Section 10A.202, subsection 2, Code 2024, is
 amended to read as follows:
    2. The department is responsible for the administration of
 the laws of this state under chapters 88A, 88B, 89, 89A, 90A,
 91A, 91C, 91D, 91E, 91F, and 92, and such other labor-services
 duties assigned to the department or director.
    Sec. 2. Section 10A.204, subsection 3, Code 2024, is amended
 to read as follows:
    3. The director, in consultation with the labor
 commissioner, shall, at the time provided by law, make an
 annual report to the governor setting forth in appropriate
 form the business and expense of the division and department
 under this subchapter for the preceding year, the number
 of remedial actions taken under chapter 89A, the number of
 disputes or violations processed by the division or department
 and the disposition of the disputes or violations, and other
 matters pertaining to the division or department under this
 subchapter which that are of public interest, together with
 recommendations for change or amendment of the laws in this
 chapter and chapters 88, 88A, 88B, 89, 89A, 89B, 90A, 91A, 91C,
 91D, 91E, 91F, and 92, and sections 85.67A and 85.68, and the
 recommendations, if any, shall be transmitted by the governor
 to the first general assembly in session after the report is
 filed.
    Sec. 3. NEW SECTION. 91F.1 Declarations and purpose.
    1. The general assembly declares that:
    a. Removing obstacles to employment for individuals with
 criminal records provides economic and social opportunities
 to a large group of individuals in Iowa and increases the
 productivity, health, and safety of Iowa communities.
    b. Employment advertisements in Iowa frequently include
 language regarding criminal records that is unrelated to the
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 employment vacancy and that either explicitly precludes or
 strongly dissuades individuals from applying for employment for
 which they are otherwise qualified.
    c. Individuals with criminal records represent a group of
 job seekers ready and able to enlarge and contribute to the
 workforce.
    d. Securing employment significantly reduces the risk of
 recidivism for individuals with criminal records.
    e. The opportunity for individuals with criminal records
 to secure employment or to pursue, practice, or engage in
 a meaningful and profitable trade, occupation, vocation,
 profession, or business is essential to rehabilitation and
 their resumption of the responsibilities of citizenship.
    2. It is the purpose of this chapter to improve the economic
 viability, health, and security of Iowa communities and to
 assist individuals with criminal records to reintegrate into
 the community, become productive members of the workforce, and
 provide for their families and themselves.
    Sec. 4. NEW SECTION. 91F.2 Definitions.
    1. “Applicant” means a person pursuing employment with an
 employer or with or through an employment agency.
    2. “Criminal record or criminal history” means information
 collected or possessed by any criminal justice agency or
 judicial system in this state or in another jurisdiction,
 including a federal, military, tribal, or foreign jurisdiction,
 concerning individuals which information includes identifiable
 descriptions and notations of arrests, detentions, indictments,
 or other formal criminal charges, and any disposition arising
 therefrom, including acquittal, deferred judgment, sentencing,
 correctional supervision, release, or conviction, and any
 sentence arising from a verdict or plea of guilty or nolo
 contendere, including a sentence of incarceration, a suspended
 sentence, a sentence of probation, or a sentence of conditional
 discharge.
    3. “Director” means the director of the department of
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 inspections, appeals, and licensing.
    4. “Employer” means a person who has four or more employees
 in the current or preceding calendar year and includes an agent
 of such a person. For purposes of this chapter, individuals
 who are members of the employer’s family shall not be counted
 as employees.
    5. “Employment agency” means a person who, with or without
 compensation, regularly brings together those desiring to
 employ and those desiring employment and includes an agent of
 such a person.
    Sec. 5. NEW SECTION. 91F.3 Prohibited hiring practices ——
 exceptions.
    1. An employer or employment agency shall not inquire
 about or require disclosure of the criminal record or criminal
 history of an applicant until the applicant’s interview is
 being conducted or, if an interview will not be conducted,
 until after a conditional offer of employment is made to the
 applicant by the employer or employment agency.
    2. Subsection 1 does not apply to the following positions
 if an employer or employment agency establishes a separate
 application form for such positions that includes the title and
 job description of the position, the specific state or federal
 law or bonding requirement that applies to the position, and
 the types of criminal offenses that would preclude an applicant
 from being hired for the position:
    a. Positions for which employers are required to exclude
 applicants with certain criminal convictions from employment
 due to federal or state law.
    b. Positions for which a fidelity bond or an equivalent
 bond is required and an applicant’s conviction of one or more
 specified criminal offenses would disqualify the applicant from
 obtaining such bond, in which case an employer may include a
 question or otherwise inquire whether the applicant has ever
 been convicted of such specified criminal offenses.
    3. Subsection 1 does not prohibit an employer or employment
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 agency from notifying applicants in writing of specific
 offenses that will disqualify an applicant from employment in a
 particular position as permitted by subsection 2.
    4. Subsection 1 does not apply to the following positions:
    a. Positions for which an employee will work within the
 residence of the employer if the employer or members of the
 employer’s family reside therein during such employment.
    b. Positions for which an employee will have entry access to
 a personal residence or an occupied unit in a multiple housing
 structure.
    c. Positions for which an employee will render personal
 service to the person of the employer or members of the
 employer’s family.
    5. An employment agency shall not be liable for a violation
 of subsection 1 if the employment agency can demonstrate by
 clear and convincing evidence that such violation was caused by
 the employment agency’s good-faith reliance on an affirmative
 representation by an employer that one of the exceptions listed
 in subsection 2 or 4 applied to the position in question. The
 employer shall be liable for any such violations.
    Sec. 6. NEW SECTION. 91F.4 Powers and duties of the
 director.
    1. The director may hold hearings and investigate alleged
 violations of this chapter by an employer or employment agency.
    2. The director may assess and recover civil penalties in
 accordance with sections 91F.5 and 91F.6.
    3. The director shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to
 administer this chapter.
    Sec. 7. NEW SECTION. 91F.5 Civil penalties —— amount.
    An employer or employment agency who violates the provisions
 of this chapter shall be subject to a penalty as follows:
    1. For a first violation, the director shall issue a written
 warning to the employer or employment agency that includes
 notice regarding penalties for subsequent violations and the
 employer or employment agency shall have thirty days to remedy
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 the violation.
    2. For a second violation, or if a previous violation is
 not remedied within thirty days of notice by the director,
 the director may impose a civil penalty of up to five hundred
 dollars.
    3. For a third violation, or if a previous violation is
 not remedied within sixty days of notice by the director, the
 director may impose a civil penalty of up to one thousand five
 hundred dollars.
    4. For subsequent violations, or if a previous violation
 is not remedied within ninety days of notice by the director,
 the director may impose a civil penalty of up to one thousand
 five hundred dollars for every thirty days that pass thereafter
 without compliance.
    Sec. 8. NEW SECTION. 91F.6 Civil penalties —— recovery.
    1. The director may propose that an employer be assessed
 a civil penalty as provided in section 91F.4 by serving the
 employer with notice of such proposal in the same manner as an
 original notice is served under the rules of civil procedure.
 Upon service of such notice, the proposed assessment shall be
 treated as a contested case under chapter 17A. However, an
 employer or employment agency must request a hearing within
 thirty days of being served.
    2. If an employer or employment agency does not request a
 hearing pursuant to subsection 1 or if the director determines,
 after an appropriate hearing, that an employer or employment
 agency is in violation of this chapter, the director shall
 assess a civil penalty in accordance with section 91F.5.
    3. An employer or employment agency may seek judicial
 review of any assessment made under subsection 2 by instituting
 proceedings for judicial review pursuant to chapter 17A.
 However, such proceedings must be instituted in the district
 court of the county in which the violation or one of the
 violations occurred and within thirty days of the day on which
 the employer was notified that an assessment has been made.
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    4. After the time for seeking judicial review has expired or
 after all judicial review has been exhausted and the director’s
 assessment has been upheld, the director shall request the
 attorney general to recover the assessed penalties in a civil
 action.
    5. Civil penalties recovered pursuant to this section shall
 be remitted by the director to the treasurer of state for
 deposit in the general fund of the state.
    Sec. 9. NEW SECTION. 91F.7 Construction.
    This chapter shall not be construed to require an employer to
 employ an individual with a criminal record.
    Sec. 10. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act takes
 effect January 1, 2025.
                            DIVISION II
        CRIMINAL HISTORY EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION TASK FORCE
    Sec. 11. CRIMINAL HISTORY EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION TASK FORCE
 AND REPORT.
    1. A criminal history employment application task force
 is created. The task force shall consist of the following
 members:
    a. The director of the department of inspections, appeals,
 and licensing or the director’s designee, who shall represent
 public sector employers.
    b. Two representatives of established civil rights and
 civil liberties organizations appointed by the director.
    c. Two representatives of private sector employers
 appointed by the director.
    d. One representative of a private sector labor
 organization appointed by the director.
    e. One representative of a statewide public sector labor
 organization appointed by the director.
    2. The task force shall study appropriate voluntary
 standards and procedures for evaluating employment applications
 from an individual with a criminal history, including but not
 limited to the nature of the crime, the age at which the crime
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 was committed, the nature of the duties of the position applied
 for, and relevant evidence of the individual’s rehabilitation.
    3. The department of inspections, appeals, and licensing
 shall provide staffing services for the task force. The
 director or the director’s designee shall serve as the
 chairperson of the task force.
    4. The members of the task force shall serve without
 compensation and shall not be reimbursed for their expenses.
    5. The task force shall submit a report regarding its
 findings and recommendations to the governor and the general
 assembly no later than January 1, 2025. The report shall
 include a model pamphlet or other publication in both printed
 and electronic form on evaluating employment applications
 from individuals with criminal histories to be distributed to
 employers in Iowa in a manner similar to other information
 distributed by the director.
    Sec. 12. EFFECTIVE DATE. This division of this Act, being
 deemed of immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment.
                           EXPLANATION
         The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
          the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
    DIVISION I —— PROHIBITED HIRING PRACTICES —— CRIMINAL
 RECORD OR CRIMINAL HISTORY. Division I of this bill prohibits
 an employer or employment agency from inquiring about or
 requiring disclosure of the criminal record or criminal
 history of an applicant until the applicant’s interview is
 being conducted. If an interview for the position will not be
 conducted, the prohibition applies until after a conditional
 offer of employment is made to the applicant by the employer or
 employment agency.
    The prohibition does not apply to certain positions listed
 in the division if an employer or employment agency establishes
 a separate application form for such positions that includes
 certain information listed in the division. The division does
 not prohibit an employer or employment agency from notifying
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 applicants in writing of specific offenses that will disqualify
 an applicant from employment in a particular position as
 permitted by these exceptions.
    The prohibition does not apply to certain additional
 positions listed in the division.
    An employment agency shall not be liable for a violation of
 the prohibition if the employment agency can demonstrate by
 clear and convincing evidence that such violation was caused by
 the employment agency’s good-faith reliance on an affirmative
 representation by an employer that one of the exceptions listed
 in the bill applied to the position in question. The employer
 shall be liable for any such violations.
    The division defines “applicant” as a person pursuing
 employment with an employer or with or through an employment
 agency. The division defines “employer” as a person who has
 four or more employees in the current or preceding calendar
 year and an agent of such a person, excluding family members.
 The division defines “employment agency” as a person who,
 with or without compensation, regularly brings together those
 desiring to employ and those desiring employment and an agent
 of such a person.
    The division defines “criminal record or criminal history”
 as information collected or possessed by any criminal
 justice agency or judicial system in this state or in another
 jurisdiction, including a federal, military, tribal, or
 foreign jurisdiction, concerning individuals which information
 includes identifiable descriptions and notations of arrests,
 detentions, indictme