You are not your criminal record, and it’s time employers start placing skill and potential above arrests and convictions. Pleading for equality in the workplace is exhaustive when it feels like no one is listening. In order for our nation to progress toward inclusiveness, productive action must be taken. Illinois takes a step toward greater equality and acceptance of individuals with previous convictions with a new bill that limits employers’ abilities to consider a candidate’s criminal history while hiring.
The Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) already prohibits employers from basing adverse hiring decisions off a candidate’s criminal history unless the candidate poses a threat to public safety, welfare, or property, or the conviction substantially relates to the role itself. Illinois displays an eagerness to stop employers from excluding candidates with previous convictions by enacting Senate Bill 1480, a law that cracks down even harder on discriminatory employer practices. Under SB 1480, any failure to comply with IHRA standards will result in a civil right violation, a mark far more undignified and degrading than any nonviolent arrest.
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