What it means for you
Since July 2021, covered employers must fairly assess pending cases and arrests or convictions that happen during employment before acting, explain their reasoning in writing, and let you respond. They cannot use unsealed violations.
Who benefits: Most New York City job applicants and current workers—including qualifying interns, freelancers, and independent contractors—whose employer considers a pending case, an unsealed violation, or a conviction.
If you apply to a New York City employer with at least four workers, the employer generally cannot ask about a pending criminal case or a misdemeanor or felony conviction until it gives you a conditional job offer. Before withdrawing the offer, it must examine whether the alleged or convicted conduct directly relates to the job or creates an unreasonable safety or property risk. It must give you its record and analysis in writing and at least five business days to respond. Covered employers must follow a similar process before disciplining or firing a current worker because of a pending case or conviction.
Employers of any size generally cannot ask about or use arrests that did not lead to convictions, adjournments in contemplation of dismissal, youthful-offender findings, sealed convictions, or violations—even unsealed ones. The protections extend to qualifying interns, freelancers, and independent contractors. Some law-enforcement jobs and positions governed by other background-check laws are exempt. You do not apply; you can file a complaint with the Commission on Human Rights.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams carried Local Law 4, building on the 2015 Fair Chance Act he developed with Gale Brewer. Ten Council members cosponsored it, and it was introduced at Mayor Bill de Blasio’s request. The Council passed it in December 2020. De Blasio did not sign it; it became law under the City Charter on January 10, 2021, and took effect July 29. Commission rules effective October 30, 2026, clarified and codified the process.
Work and wagesRights
Sources
- Int. 1314-2018, prohibiting discrimination based on one's arrest record, pending criminal accusations or criminal convictionsNew York City Council
- Fair Chance ActNYC Commission on Human Rights
- NYC Council to vote on Williams' Fair Chance Act 2.0, banning employment discrimination on the basis of arrest recordOffice of the NYC Public Advocate, December 10, 2020
- New York City employment background check lawDavis Wright Tremaine, January 22, 2021
- Amendments to New York City's Fair Chance Act rules, what employers should knowMorgan Lewis, October 29, 2026
How we checked this
Drafted by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic) on November 11, 2026. Checked against its sources by GPT-5.6-sol (OpenAI) on November 11, 2026, which corrected it. Confirmed the law remains in effect and that the amended rules took effect October 30, 2026. Corrected the law’s scope, employer-size threshold, legislative credits, source URL, and source dates.
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