July

"After years of abortive efforts, the D.C. Council voted to give job applicants with criminal records new protections against discrimination from potential employers. On a 12-to-1 vote, lawmakers gave initial approval to the Fair Criminal Record Screening Act - known to its proponents as ""ban the box"" - which restricts when employers can check a job applicant's criminal background. The new bill, introduced by Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), places new curbs on when during the hiring process an employer can check an applicant's criminal background, thus banning the practice of screening applicants based on their criminal records."

"Private employers in Illinois with 15 or more employees will have to revamp their job applications to remove questions about criminal background history and postpone such inquiries to the job interview or conditional job offer stage of the hiring process under legislation that is expected to be signed into law by the governor. The ""ban the box"" measure, titled the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act will take effect January 1, 2015, if, as expected, Governor Pat Quinn approves it. The governor already previously banned criminal background questions from most State of Illinois government job applications in October 2013 by an administrative order."

"New Orleans tour guides will continue to undergo criminal background checks and drug testing in order to ply their trade after a federal appeals court upheld the city's licensing system. Four tour guides sought to strike the licensing law on First Amendment grounds, arguing they were unconstitutionally prevented from talking to visitors about New Orleans history without a permit. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected those arguments. The court said the licensing requirements serve a compelling interest: to protect the city's thriving tourism industry by ensuring its tour guides are not criminals or drug addicts and that they are ""knowledgeable about the city and trustworthy."""