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

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 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, 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. An employer or employment agency that violates the provisions of the division is subject to civil penalties ranging from a written warning for a first violation to up to $1,500 every days for a fourth or subsequent violation not remedied within days. The director of the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing may hold hearings and investigate alleged violations of the division by an employer or employment agency, may assess and recover civil penalties and seek assistance from the attorney general in such recovery, and shall adopt rules to administer the division. The division shall not be construed to require an employer to employ an individual with a criminal record. The division takes effect January 1, 2025. DIVISION II —— CRIMINAL HISTORY EMPLOYMENT APPLICATION TASK FORCE. Division II of the bill creates a criminal history employment application task force. 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 was committed, the nature of the duties of the position applied for, and relevant evidence of the individual’s rehabilitation. The division lists the membership of the task force. The director shall be the chairperson of the task force and the labor services division of the department of workforce development shall provide staffing services for the task force. 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. The division takes effect upon enactment.