Statement on OPM Issuing Final Regulations to Prohibit Federal Agencies from Requesting Criminal History During Hiring

In response to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issuing final regulations to implement the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (Fair Chance Act)—which prohibits federal agencies and federal contractors from requesting an applicant’s criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment to the applicant—JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA) President and CEO DeAnna Hoskins issued the following statement:

“JustLeadershipUSA applauds the work of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and their commitment to recruitment and hiring policies that create greater accessibility and inclusivity for individuals living with a criminal conviction. This action today was one JLUSA called for in our 2021-2024 Roadmap and reiterated again in March of this year when we published the landscape report Building the Table: Advancing a Sustained Federal Commitment to Ensure Economic Justice for Systems-Impacted Individuals. JLUSA was also honored to work with the Domestic Policy Council to identify rules and processes to make this truly equitable for those living with a criminal history.

“These types of procedural shifts are the beginning of many necessary steps the federal government must take to continue modeling its commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility, and Belonging in hiring. The federal government is the largest hiring entity in the country with over 2.2 million positions and must continue to model the way as a fair chance employer.

“These Final Rules are an incremental step in the right direction towards economic justice. The clarion call continues as we encourage the federal government to continue to engage and increase authentic partnership with directly impacted individuals to expand employment protections that are meaningful and necessary.”