[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.