Employers in Philadelphia will have to change their job applicant screening and hiring processes should legislation introduced last month by Councilmember Rue Landau become law. The bill – introduced on April 24, 2025 and co-sponsored by Council President Kenyatta Johnson, Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, Councilmember Kendra Brooks, Councilmember Jim Harrity, Councilmember Nicholas O’Rourke, and Councilmember Mark Squilla – proposes amendments to Chapter 9-3500 of the Philadelphia Code entitled “Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards.”
The existing law, known as the “Fair Chance Hiring” law, governs how employers can use information from criminal background checks in making hiring decisions. The proposed changes place additional requirements on employers and provide new remedies to job applicants who believe they were wrongly rejected from employment.
Individualized Assessment Requirement
Under existing law, certain employers cannot reject a job applicant due to a criminal record without performing an individualized assessment of the risk the applicant would pose to the business, co-workers, or customers based on the applicant’s specific criminal record and the particular job being sought. The proposed bill would change or expand two key provisions:
- 7 Year Rule. Under existing law, employers cannot consider an applicant’s criminal record if the conviction occurred more than seven years prior to application. This bill would set new time guidelines based on the severity of the conviction. Employers could still consider felony convictions that occurred within the seven-year period, but misdemeanor convictions could only be considered if they occurred less than three years prior. Employers would also be prohibited from considering summary offense convictions or expunged convictions regardless of date.
- Enhanced Assessment Criteria. Under existing law, certain employers are required to consider several factors in determining the potential risk the applicant would pose. This bill would require employers to consider an additional factor – evidence of the applicant’s rehabilitation since the conviction, including completion of job training or an educational program, community service, treatment for mental illness or substance use disorder, and recent work history.
Notice
The bill also proposes significant changes to the notice requirements placed on employers who reject applicants due to their criminal record. Under existing law, if an employer rejects an applicant wholly or partially based on the applicant’s criminal record, the employer must notify the applicant in writing and provide a copy of the record it relied on. The law gives the applicant ten days to provide evidence of the record’s inaccuracy or an explanation of the conviction. The proposed bills would expand the scope of this requirement. Instead of having to provide an applicant a ten-day notice of their actual rejection, employers would be required to provide a 15-day notice that it “intends to reject” the applicant. In that notice, employers would also have to provide details on the “individualized assessment” conducted and an explanation of the applicant’s rights under the law. The employer must then give the applicant 15 days to provide evidence of the record’s inaccuracy or an explanation of the conviction. The bill’s new distinction between “actual rejection” and an “intent to reject” means that employers would now be required to wait until the 15-day notice period has expired before making a final employment decision on any applicant.
Enforcement and Damages
The bill proposes providing additional remedies for applicants who allege violations of the law. In addition to bringing a case to the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations (PCHR) – which would also have a new ability to provide liquidated damages directly to the applicant – applicants would also be able to file a private right of action in court. Courts would have the ability to issue a cease-and-desist order to employers, award injunctive relief, and award punitive or compensatory damages to the applicant under this proposed law.
Next Step: The bill has been referred to City Council’s Committee on Public Safety for a yet-to-be scheduled public hearing.
Kleinbard’s Employment Practice Group is available to assist employers as they navigate Philadelphia’s existing and proposed laws impacting their workforce. For more information, please contact Lorena E. Ahumada, Esq. at lahumada@kleinbard.com or 215-496-7227.
Kleinbard’s Government Relations Practice Group is available to assist businesses with strategic guidance on legislative and public policy matters in Philadelphia and statewide. For more information, please contact Rebecca Corcoran Swanson, Esq. at rswanson@kleinbard.com or 267-443-4146.
