New York's Revised Fair Chance Rules Take Effect October 30, Giving Job Seekers at Least Five Business Days to Respond

The New York City Commission on Human Rights' revised rules implementing the Fair Chance Act take effect on October 30, 2026. According to legal analyses from several law firms, the Commission voted to approve the final rules on September 15 and published them on September 30; the rules largely write the statutory amendments that took effect in 2021 into the regulations and clarify the procedures employers must follow when considering criminal history.

Offer first, background check second

The Fair Chance Act, in effect since 2015 and often called a ban-the-box law, bars most employers from inquiring about an applicant's criminal history before making a conditional offer of employment; only after such an offer may criminal history be considered under the prescribed process. The 2021 amendments extended protections to certain current employees, and the new rules codify that: convictions predating employment are assessed under the factors in Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law, while pending cases and convictions arising during employment are assessed under the New York City Fair Chance Employment Factors.

Response period extended from three to five days

The most immediate operational change is timing: an employer that wants to revoke a conditional offer, deny a transfer or promotion, or take adverse action against a current employee based on criminal history must first provide the individual with the criminal-history information relied upon and a written individualized assessment, and allow a reasonable period of at least five business days to respond, up from three days. Before conducting the assessment, the employer must affirmatively request information from the individual relating to the applicable factors. An employer may also place a current employee on paid or unpaid leave for a reasonable period during the process involving a pending case or conviction arising during employment; the rules create a rebuttable presumption that a reasonable period does not exceed five business days.

Stricter treatment of violations

The rules identify certain practices as per se violations, meaning they can breach the Fair Chance Act even without an adverse employment decision or demonstrated injury, including prohibited pre-offer criminal-history inquiries, improper application materials, and failures to follow the individualized assessment procedures. The Commission also eliminated its early resolution procedure for Commission-initiated Fair Chance Act complaints. Legal analysts note the rules impose few entirely new substantive obligations, but spell out procedural requirements and enforcement standards in greater detail; employers should review hiring and background-screening practices before October 30.