San Francisco Enacts Ban The Box Law For Some Private Employers

San Francisco has followed Seattle and Buffalo’s lead, enacting a Ban the Box law that applies to private employers. The city had prohibited public employers from including criminal history inquiries on initial job applications, but the Feb. 17 law expands that to bar all employers with more than 20 employees from asking about or obtaining the conviction history of job applicants until after their first live interview, and includes employment agencies, contractors, subcontractors and housing providers. Some fields, like child care and law enforcement, are exceptions.