LawFlash




October 10, 2025

The Philadelphia City Council on September 25, 2025 unanimously passed a bill amending and expanding the existing Philadelphia Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Law (the Fair Chance Law). This legislation, which takes effect on December 24, 2025, introduces several changes aimed at enhancing protections for job applicants and employees with criminal records.

Some of the more significant changes include the following:

  • Reduction of Lookback Period: Under the existing Fair Chance Law, employers are prohibited from considering conviction information that is older than seven years from the date of the inquiry. The amendments reduce the lookback period for misdemeanor convictions to four years. The lookback period for felony convictions is still seven years.
  • Exclusion of Summary Offenses: The amendments reconcile the limitations under the Philadelphia Fair Chance Law with those imposed by the Pennsylvania Criminal Records Information Act (CHRIA) by confirming that employers may not consider summary offenses, which are offenses that do not rise to the level of a felony or misdemeanor, when making employment decisions.
  • Expunged or Sealed Records: Employers cannot consider a conviction record that has been expunged or sealed. Further, if an expunged or sealed criminal record appears on a driver record issued by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, an employer is required to allow the applicant or employee the opportunity to provide evidence of expungement or sealing before basing an adverse employment action on the offense.
  • Notice of Background Checks: If an employer chooses to provide notice of its intention to perform a background check during the hiring process, such as in a job advertisement or in a job offer, it must now also state that any consideration of the background check will be an individualized assessment based on the applicant’s or employee’s specific record and the duties and requirements of the specific job.
  • Notification and Rebuttal Opportunities: The amendments impose additional pre-adverse action requirements, including the requirement to provide applicants/employees of (1) a summary of the applicant’s or employee’s rights under the Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Ordinance; (2) a statement that the employer will consider evidence of any error in the criminal history records and evidence of rehabilitation and mitigation if provided by the applicant or employee, including a list of the types of evidence that may be offered (as set forth below); and (3) instruction as to how the applicant or employee can exercise their right to provide evidence or explanation directly to the employer.

    As to the list of rehabilitation information and mitigating evidence that an applicant or employee may offer during the pre-adverse action period, the amendments state that an individual may provide information concerning (1) the completion of a mental health or substance use disorder treatment program; (2) the completion of a job training program; (3) the completion of a GED or post-secondary education program; (4) service to the community; (5) work history in a related field since the time of conviction or incarceration; and/or (6) an active occupational licensure, commercial driver licensure, or other licensure necessary to perform the specific duties of the job.

  • Antiretaliation Clause: The amendments include a very robust antiretaliation clause for individuals exercising their rights under the Fair Chance Law. The retaliation clause includes a rebuttable presumption of unlawful retaliation whenever an employer discharges, suspends, demotes, or takes other adverse action against a person within 90 days of when that person engaged in the exercise of rights under the Fair Chance Law, such as providing information pertinent to an employer’s individualized assessment of the person’s criminal record. The employer may overcome the presumption by showing by a preponderance of evidence that they took the adverse action for just cause and would have taken the adverse action notwithstanding the protected activity.

    The amendments’ antiretaliation clause further clarifies that it is not retaliation if an employer has acted in good faith to comply with the law and either (1) after receiving and considering additional information provided by the applicant or employee, the employer elects to move forward with the rejection of a job application; (2) terminates or otherwise takes adverse action against multiple employees or applicants based on legitimate business concerns that are not related to such person’s criminal record or conduct; or (3) takes an adverse employment action based on a pending criminal charge where the offense bears a relationship to the employee’s duties and the employer. Notably, however, basing a no-hire decision on a pending criminal case could create risk for employers under the Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA).

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Employers who hire in Philadelphia should review their hiring and background check procedures to ensure those procedures comply with the Fair Chance Law’s amended requirements, which take effect December 24. For example, employers should promptly update their pre-adverse action notices to align with the updated requirements, and, given the addition of the robust antiretaliation clause, employers should take extra care to document all employment decisions thoroughly to ensure that they are based on objective criteria that are unrelated to the applicant’s or employee’s exercise of their rights under the Fair Chance Law.