OPM Updates Guidance on Hiring Workers with Criminal History
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released updated guidance and frequently asked questions (FAQs) on hiring workers into the federal government with a criminal history.
The guidance is a follow-up to earlier regulations implementing the 2019 Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, which codified the 2016 “Ban the Box” rule. The act bars federal agencies from asking most job seekers if they have a criminal history until the conditional offer phase of the hiring process.
In the guidance, outgoing OPM Director Kiran Ahuja reiterated that there are only select exceptions.
Candidates may be asked about criminal history earlier in the application process only for certain jobs: those requiring a security clearance, law enforcement positions, dual-status military technicians, and other jobs that are deemed “sensitive.”
Agencies can no longer request exceptions for positions not on the list, although previous exemptions granted by OPM will be honored.
Controls on Information
The updated guidance reminds agencies that they cannot request information on criminal history in either written or oral form, and that agencies must not “request criminal history information at the point of initial application, upon receipt of an application, or prior to, during, or after a job interview.”
Agencies must ensure that “proper controls are in place within automated systems so as to prevent the untimely collection of criminal history information” and must publicize the ban in job announcements.
If an applicant wishes to file a complaint, agencies are directed to give them detailed instructions.
In addition, OPM wants agencies to establish and publish “well- documented procedures” and share them with anyone involved in the pre-offer stage.
Hiring managers are urged to present conditional job offers in writing to “help establish clear recordkeeping as to when an offer is made. Having communications and dates well documented is helpful in the event an applicant raises a claim about the timing of the collection of criminal history information.”
Upon the initial release of the regulations in October, Director Ahuja said, “America is a nation of second chances and every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.”
