INDUSTRY NEWS
Colorado Limits Inquiries About Applicants’ Criminal History
Colorado has joined the ban-the-box legislative trend.
Ban-the-box laws prohibit employers from asking applicants about criminal history on the employment application, thereby banning the once-common checkbox for applicants to disclose their ex-convict status. These laws also generally impose other restrictions on the collection and use of criminal history in the recruitment process.
With the enactment of the Colorado Chance to Compete Act (H.B. 19-1025) (CCCA) on May 28, 2019, Colorado has become the 32nd jurisdiction to enact a ban-the-box law that applies to private-sector employees. Adding additional protections for applicants with criminal histories, Governor Polis simultaneously signed H.B. 19-1275, which restricts inquiries about applicants’ sealed and expunged criminal records.