[Adopted 3-6-1970 by L.L.
No. 1-1970]
No person, partnership, agency, firm or corporation, or officer,
employee or agent thereof, shall recruit, procure, supply or refer
any person for employment who customarily and repeatedly offers himself/herself
for employment in place of any employee involved in a labor dispute
in which such person, partnership, agency, firm or corporation is
not directly involved.
No person, partnership, firm or corporation involved in a labor
dispute shall, directly or indirectly:
A. Employ,
in the place of an employee involved in such dispute, any person who
customarily and repeatedly offers himself/herself for employment in
the place of employees involved in a labor dispute; or
B. Contract
or arrange with any other person, partnership, agency, firm or corporation
to recruit, procure, supply or refer persons for employment who customarily
and repeatedly offer themselves for employment in place of employees
involved in such labor dispute.
No person who customarily and repeatedly offers himself/herself
for employment in place of employees involved in a labor dispute shall
take or offer to take the place in employment of any employee involved
in a labor dispute.
Any person, partnership, agency, firm or corporation, or any
officer, employee or agent thereof, who or which shall violate any
provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be subject to punishment by a fine of not
more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for a period not exceeding six
months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
[Adopted 2-13-2017 by L.L. No. 1-2017]
This article shall be known as the "Albany County Fair Chance
Act."
The Legislature finds that those with a criminal history regularly
face discrimination in many areas of life, including employment.
The Legislature further finds that studies indicate that stable
employment is one of the best predictors of post-conviction success.
The Legislature further finds that the ability of people with
a criminal history to successfully reintegrate into their communities
and find employment improves public safety and benefits local taxpayers,
as less crime leads to safer communities, strengthens families and
saves taxpayers money on costs associated with law enforcement and
incarceration.
The Legislature determines that those who have been incarcerated
have paid their debt to society and should be considered fully free
men and women. They should not be further punished once they are released
from prison and should be evaluated based on their qualifications
to perform a job rather than their criminal history.
The Legislature determines that people with a criminal history
represent a workforce with skills to contribute and a desire to add
value to their communities.
The Legislature determines that the main goal of a criminal
justice system should be rehabilitation and that once people enter
back into society, they should be treated fairly and without discrimination
based on a prior conviction.
The Legislature finds that job discrimination based on criminal
history can affect anyone, regardless of race, religion, national
origin, gender or sexual orientation. However, African Americans are
disproportionately hurt by discrimination based on criminal history
due to a long history of policies that have led to African Americans
being incarcerated at rates more than five times that of Whites and
more than 2 1/2 times that of Hispanics.
The Legislature determines that due to a criminal justice system
in which minorities are incarcerated at much higher rates than Whites,
African Americans and Hispanics bear the brunt of discrimination based
on criminal history in employment.
The Legislature finds that nine municipalities and two counties
in the State of New York have implemented policies to protect job
applicants against potential discrimination, including the three largest
cities in the state: New York City, Buffalo and Rochester.
The Legislature further finds that over 20 states and over 100
municipalities and counties throughout the United States across all
political lines have implemented policies to protect job applicants
from potential discrimination.
The Legislature further finds that the New York Correction Law
does not prohibit employers from inquiring about criminal history
on job applications. In the application processes where the vast majority
of applications are tossed aside during an initial review for a variety
of reasons, it makes it extremely difficult for an applicant to prove
that he/she was not hired due to his/her criminal history.
Therefore, the purpose of this article is to ensure that everyone
receives a fair chance in seeking employment with Albany County, regardless
of one's arrest record or criminal history.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
ADVERSE ACTION
To refuse to hire or promote, to discharge a person or revoke
an applicant's conditional offer of employment.
APPLICANT
Any person considered or who requests to be considered for
employment by Albany County.
ARREST
A record or action by any jurisdiction that does not result
in a conviction, or any encounter with a law enforcement agency that
does not result in a conviction. This includes information indicating
that a person has been questioned, apprehended, taken into custody
or detained, or held for an investigation by a law enforcement, police
or prosecutorial agency.
CONVICTION
Any sentence arising from a plea or verdict of guilty, including
a sentence of incarceration, suspended sentence, a sentence of probation
or sentence of unconditional discharge.
COUNTY
The County of Albany, its departments, administrative units
and related agencies.
EMPLOYMENT
Any occupation, vocation, job or work for pay, including
temporary or seasonal work, contracted work, contingent work and work
through the services of a temporary or other employment agency; or
any form of vocational or educational training, with or without pay.
The employer shall maintain a record of the number of positions
requiring background checks, and for those positions shall maintain
a record of the number of applicants and the number of applicants
who were provided a conditional offer of employment. In addition,
the employer shall maintain a record of the number of applicants who
were provided an adverse action notice; the number of applicants who
appealed the adverse action notice to the Albany County Department
of Human Resources; and the number of applicants who won adverse action
appeals. The employer shall also maintain a record of the race/ethnicity
and gender of all applicants for all of the required data collection
categories listed above.
The prohibitions of this article shall not apply if inquiries
about an applicant's criminal history, arrest record or other adverse
action are specifically prohibited, authorized or required by any
other applicable law.
The Albany County Department of Human Resources shall collect all data described in §
138-11 of this article once every year and release a report to the Albany County Legislature and to the public, to be posted on the County of Albany website, that shall clearly show all data collected. The report shall include an analysis of all data collected in §
138-11 and shall include a racial impact statement.
This article shall be null and void on the day that federal
or statewide legislation goes into effect, incorporating either the
same or substantially similar provisions as are contained in this article,
or in the event that a pertinent state or federal administrative agency
issues and promulgates regulations preempting such action by the County
of Albany. The County Legislature may determine via mere resolution
whether or not identical or substantially similar federal or statewide
legislation, or pertinent preempting state or federal regulations,
have been enacted for the purposes of triggering the provisions of
this section.