ILLINOIS: New Criminal History Check Requirements on Employers

Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill (SB1480) that—effective immediately—amends the Illinois Human Rights Act (IHRA) to, among other things, impose new requirements on employers that perform criminal history checks on their employees. For employers that currently have a multistate-compliant background check system in place, the new Illinois requirements do not pose significant additional compliance obligations, for two reasons.  

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​(1) the new Illinois requirements mirror those that currently exist in a plethora of jurisdictions, including California and New York; (2) the new Illinois requirements incorporate steps that employers are already required to take to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Multistate employers will, however, need to review their adverse action notices to ensure that they include language required under the amended IHRA.