Dive Brief:

• Glassdoor announced Oct. 4 that it will no longer permit employers to post job listings that aren't in line with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions. The company didn't say what such postings would look like but EEOC's guidance states that employers should refrain from requesting criminal history when it's not relevant to the job.
• Some states and municipalities have adopted "ban-the-box" requirements that restrict when employers can ask about applicants' criminal history and how that information can be used. Some employers, like Starbucks and Home Depot, have done so on their own.
• The parties involved with Glassdoor's terms-of-service update said they are aiming to end employment discrimination against applicants with criminal records and want to encourage employers to consider a skilled "second-chance" community as a talent source.

Dive Insight:

While the EEOC's guidance isn't law, it provides a framework for how the commission enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race. "Ban-the-box" proponents (and EEOC) say that questions about criminal history can violate the law when there is disparate treatment based on race, and even when seemingly neutral policies have a disparate impact on protected classes.

There are more than 150 such policies around the country, according to the National Employment Law Project, and federal lawmakers are considering nationwide requirements as well. Employers must ensure that they're complying with all applicable state and local laws, and that they're keeping an eye on federal action as well.