As of September 1, 2023, OPM issued final regulations for the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (Fair Chance Act), which prohibits (with some exceptions) a hiring agency from collecting information on criminal background and history prior to a conditional offer being made for federal employment. Building on previous initiatives to “ban the box”, the vision for the Fair Chance Act was to expand the hiring pool for federal agencies while broadening opportunities for previously incarcerated individuals. Included in the regulations, job applicants can report agency violations of the Fair Chance Act and hold federal employees accountable. For a deeper dive, read Drew Friedman’s article on Federal News Network here.
MHME Federal Agencies: MonsterGov recommends agencies review their eligibility and vacancy questions in Monster Hiring Management and forms collection timeframes in Monster Onboarding to review what is being collected and when, as it pertains to the Fair Chance Act. Please note the Declaration for Federal Employment form, OF-306, was updated to reflect collection timeframes, and the new form will be available in Monster Onboarding in January. If needed, request an extension to use the prior version.