Ask a Law Librarian: FAQ's about Legal Research

Ban the Box Legislation refers to laws that require employers to not automatically dismiss a job applicant with arrests and criminal convictions. The employer must first consider an job applicant's qualifications for a position. These laws are indexed in legal materials under terms such as fair employment or discrimination. Some New York municipalities also have local laws that incorporate the New York State law.

New York State Ban the Box Legislation: Executive Law § 296 (16) ; New York Corrections Law, Art 23-A Licensure and Employment of Persons Previously convicted of One or More Criminal Offenses. 

See the following legal materials for further discussion: 

§ 6:12. Restrictions upon use of or obtaining criminal history record, 13A N.Y. Prac, Employment Law in New York § 6:12 (2d ed.) (Westlaw)

2 New York Employment Law § 24.12 (2nd 2021) Discrimination Based on Arrests or Conviction (Lexis)

The New York City Commission on Human Rights has published a valuable pamphlet. Criminal History? You can Work with That: A Worker's Guide to Criminal History Protections Under the New York City Human Rights Law describes what questions an employer may ask on a job application and during a job interview. The pamphlet also details some of the jobs that do require on criminal record searches. The pamphlet can be found through the link below.