Oregon State Passes Ban the Box for all Employers

On June 25, 2015, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed into law House Bill 3025, which makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer to exclude an applicant from an initial interview solely because of a past criminal conviction. House Bill 3025 expressly prohibits employers from asking about prior criminal convictions on an employment application. The new Oregon law takes effect January 1, 2016. Oregon makes it illegal for employers to ask the criminal question until after a conditional offer of employment is extended. Nothing in this legislation prevents an employer from considering an applicant's conviction history when making a hiring decision.

Exceptions

If a federal, state or local law, including corresponding rules and regulations, requires the consideration of an applicant's criminal history;

Law Enforcement Agencies;

An employer in the criminal justice system; or

An employer seeing a non-employee volunteer

Oregon join other cities/states across the country with similar bills for all employers including: Baltimore, MD, Buffalo, N.Y. Chicago, IL, Columbia City, MO, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montgomery County, Maryland, Nebraska, Newark, NJ , New Jersey, Prince George's County, Maryland, Philadelphia , PA, Rhode Island, Rochester, NY , San Francisco, CA, Seattle, WA, Washington State, Washington D.C.