NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) — New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood announced June 19 that Aldo Group Inc., a global shoe and accessories retailer, will stop inquiring about criminal history on initial employment applications.
“Everyone deserves a fair chance when being considered for employment,” Underwood said in a statement. “Ban the Box helps protect New Yorkers from discrimination and ensure that a job applicant’s qualifications are the focus during the hiring process. My office will continue to enforce the law as we work to ensure all New Yorkers get the fair shot they deserve.”
Under New York state law, employers must individually assess an applicant’s criminal record and determine whether it is relevant before it can reject an applicant. In many municipalities, New York City included, legislation bans employers from inquiring about criminal records in the initial hiring phase. Instead, companies must make the inquiries later in the hiring process.
"No one should be blacklisted from being considered for a job just because they have an arrest or a conviction in their past," Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, who sponsored New York City's Fair Chance Act, said in a statement. “I was proud to sponsor the Fair Chance Act with council member Jumaane Williams, and I’m prouder still to see the Attorney General's Office acting to enforce it on behalf of New Yorkers.”
Handling the case for New York were assistant attorneys general Sandra Pullman and Ajay Saini in the Civil Rights Bureau.