Workforce Justice Act of 2021

Workforce Justice Act of 2021

This bill creates a new condition of eligibility for funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program.

Specifically, to be eligible for grant funds under the JAG program, a state must prohibit private employers from

• requiring a job applicant to disclose a criminal record,
• asking about the criminal record of a job applicant prior to making a conditional offer, and
• conducting a criminal background check prior to making a conditional offer.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1598 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1598

  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
   condition eligibility for grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial 
       Justice Assistance Grant Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 3, 2021

 Mr. Trone (for himself and Ms. Waters) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
   condition eligibility for grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial 
       Justice Assistance Grant Program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Workforce Justice Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) There are an estimated 70,000,000 adults in the United 
        States with an arrest or conviction history.
            (2) Nearly 700,000 adults reenter their communities after 
        incarceration every year.
            (3) Research shows that a conviction record reduces the 
        likelihood of a job callback or offer by nearly 50 percent.
            (4) Employment is a critical factor in successful community 
        reentry and reduction of recidivism for adults with a 
        conviction history.
            (5) After two years, nearly twice as many employed adults 
        with criminal records avoided another interaction with the 
        criminal justice system compared to their unemployed 
        counterparts.
            (6) A study conducted by the Kellogg School of Management 
        at Northwestern University found the turnover rate for employed 
        adults with criminal records to be approximately 13 percent 
        lower than individuals without criminal records.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS UNDER THE BYRNE JAG PROGRAM.

    (a) Eligibility for Grants Under the Byrne JAG Program.--Section 
505(a) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 
U.S.C. 10156(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``in paragraph (2)'' and 
        inserting ``in paragraphs (2) and (3)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Eligibility.--Beginning with the third fiscal year 
        that begins after the date of the enactment of the Workforce 
        Justice Act of 2021, to be eligible for an allocation under 
        this section, a State shall have enacted and be implementing 
        legislation that prohibits private employers from--
                    ``(A) requiring an applicant to disclose whether 
                the applicant has a criminal record;
                    ``(B) inquiring about the criminal record of an 
                applicant prior to a conditional offer of employment; 
                and
                    ``(C) conducting a criminal background check on an 
                applicant prior to a conditional offer of 
                employment.''.
    (b) Reallocation of Funds.--Section 505(f) of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10156(f)) is amended--
            (1) by amending the subsection heading to read as follows: 
        ``Reallocation''; and
            (2) by inserting ``(including that a State is ineligible 
        under subsection (a)(3))'' after ``receive funds under this 
        subpart''.
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