February

While the laws regarding asking job applicants about their salary histories vary between jurisdictions, they generally aim to prevent employers from asking salary-related questions or from screening job candidates based on salary histories until after an offer is formally made.

Some laws include the prohibition of contacting an applicant's former company without the candidate's written consent and, in California, employers must provide applicants with the pay scale assigned to the relevant position.

States, cities, counties and localities that have put into place or have plans to implement such laws include Delaware, Albany County, California, Puerto Rico, San Francisco, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia.

Following the 2012 Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 's (EEOC) update, "Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," the EEOC has continued to enforce activities relating to employment criminal records checks.

The EEOC suit against Dollar General signifies the resolve to continue to litigate broad background-check-related cases notwithstanding its very public failings in other such cases. The court left open the possibility that the EEOC may have further identified "the less discriminatory alternative" practices (LDAs) via its expert once Dollar General's expert explains why its policy regarding African-American applicants is job-related and consistent with business necessity.

The Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) recently issued a final ruling to its alcohol and drug testing regulations, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

The revisions harmonize DOT testing regulations with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which published new regulations that modify mandated federal drug testing programs in October. These organizations have an impact on more than 20 states, due to the wording of many state drug testing laws that require compliance with federal guidelines, such as Kansas, Louisiana and Puerto Rico, which require Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration guidelines.

Businesses are advised to become aware of state laws and requirements.