Kansas City’s New Criminal History Hiring Law: What Employers Need To Know
Kansas City’s Committee Substitute for Ordinance No. 241074 represents a continued shift toward fair chance hiring, but its lack of clarity creates uncertainty for private employers.
Employers conducting criminal background checks in Kansas City may find themselves in uncharted legal territory following the passage of Committee Substitute for Ordinance No. 241074. The ordinance expands the city’s anti-discrimination protections to include criminal history status alongside traditional protected traits such as race, gender identity, and disability. While this move aligns with a growing national trend toward fair chance hiring, the ordinance’s unclear drafting raises questions about whether private employers are explicitly prohibited from considering criminal history in hiring decisions.
The Unclear Reach of Kansas City’s Ordinance
One of the most notable aspects of the ordinance is that it explicitly prohibits the City of Kansas City from discriminating against job applicants based on their criminal history and requires the city to conduct an individualized assessment before making hiring decisions. However, the ordinance does not clearly extend this prohibition or assessment requirement to private employers.
At first glance, the ordinance appears to regulate private-sector hiring because it amends Kansas City’s civil rights code under Chapter 38, which governs discrimination protections for employers with six or more employees. The ordinance also defines criminal history status as a protected trait, which could suggest that private employers are barred from considering it in employment decisions. However, unlike the provisions governing city employment, the ordinance fails to articulate specific requirements for private-sector employers, leaving significant ambiguity in its enforcement.
What is an Individualized Assessment?
An individualized assessment is a process by which an employer evaluates a job applicant’s criminal history in a way that considers the nature of the offense, the time elapsed since the offense, and its relevance to the job in question. The goal is to avoid blanket bans on applicants with criminal records and instead allow employers to assess risk based on the specific circumstances of each case.
The ordinance provides specific guidance for the City of Kansas City when assessing a candidate’s criminal history. It states that hiring or promotional decisions may consider criminal history only if:
The frequency, recentness, and severity of the criminal record are evaluated.
The record is reasonably related to the duties and responsibilities of the position.
Local, state, or federal laws or regulations require the exclusion of certain applicants.
The applicant is subject to a protective order that impacts employment eligibility.
Guidance from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) encourages employers to use individualized assessments when considering criminal history, ensuring that hiring decisions do not disproportionately exclude certain groups without justification. Many jurisdictions, including New York State, Louisiana, Atlanta, GA, and Gainesville, FL, have implemented laws that do not expressly ban-the-box (the practice of asking about criminal history on a job application) but require individualized assessments.
Release Date: February 25, 2025
Alonzo Martinez
Alonzo Martinez is Associate General Counsel at HireRight, where he supports the company’s compliance, legal research, and thought leadership initiatives in the background screening industry. As a senior contributor at Forbes, Alonzo writes on employment legislation, criminal history reform, pay equity, AI discrimination laws, and the impact of legalized cannabis on employers. Recognized as an industry influencer, he shares insights through his weekly video updates, media appearances, podcasts, and HireRight's compliance webinar series. Alonzo's commitment to advancing industry knowledge ensures HireRight remains at the forefront of creating actionable compliance content.