New Delaware Law "Encourages" State Vendors To "Ban The Box"

Delaware's Governor recently signed a "ban the box" law to prohibit public employers1 from inquiring into or considering the credit or criminal history of a job candidate during the initial application process (up to and including the first interview), unless otherwise required by state or federal law. Public employers must state this restriction in all "formal solicitations."

While the new Delaware law does not specifically cover or define "vendors doing business with the State," it explicitly "encourages" them to adopt policies in accordance with the statute. As such, private employers that seek or hold contracts with the State of Delaware should consider refraining from inquiries into an applicant's credit or criminal history until after the first interview and, even then, only consider such records in a manner that is job related and consistent with business necessity. Such employers that use third-party vendors to run background checks also should remember to adhere to the Fair Credit Reporting Act before taking any adverse action against applicants or employees based on the results.
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