Buffalo ban-the-box law for employers (2026): Fair Employment Screening and the first interview

Buffalo's ban-the-box law is the Fair Employment Screening article of the city code, Chapter 154, Article V (sections 154-25 to 154-29). It stops the City, its vendors and any employer with 15 or more employees located in Buffalo from asking about criminal convictions on a preliminary job application or before a first interview, which can be in person or by phone. The question may come during the initial interview or later, and an employer that does not interview must tell the applicant whether a criminal background check will be run before the job starts. As of November 2026 the article is unchanged since 2013, requires no notice form or waiting period of its own, and is enforced by private lawsuits and by Corporation Counsel penalties of $500 and then $1,000 per violation.

Where is Buffalo's ban-the-box law?

The article was adopted on May 28, 2013, and the application rule was amended on June 25, 2013. Section 154-27(A) says it applies "effective the first day of January 2014." The five sections are:

• 154-25, the core rule: no questions about prior convictions on a preliminary application; consideration of convictions only after an application is submitted, "to begin during an initial interview, or thereafter."
• 154-26, definitions of applicant, conviction, employer, employment, interview and vendor.
• 154-27, the standards: no inquiry during the application process or before a first interview, the no-interview notice, licensed trades, legal bars, and Article 23-A.
• 154-28, the exceptions.
• 154-29, enforcement and penalties.

Who is covered?

• Private employers with 15 or more employees. The definition of employer is "the City or any person, partnership, corporation, labor organization, not-for-profit, or association having 15 or more employees," and the core rule applies to "any employer located within the City of Buffalo limits."
• The City of Buffalo, its departments, administrative units and related agencies.
• City vendors, defined as any vendor, contractor or supplier of goods or services to the City, "including vendors located outside the City of Buffalo limits." A suburban or out-of-state company with a City contract is covered.
• Many kinds of work. Employment includes temporary or seasonal work, contracted and contingent work, "work through the services of a temporary or other employment agency," and vocational or educational training, paid or unpaid. It excludes employment by any government law enforcement agency.

The text ties coverage to where the employer is located, not where the job is. It does not address remote roles or employers with no Buffalo location, so ask counsel before assuming a fully remote hire is in or out.

When can a Buffalo employer ask about convictions?

Section 154-27(A) makes it an unlawful discriminatory practice to ask about, or require disclosure of, any criminal conviction "during the application process," which begins when the applicant inquires about the job and ends when the employer has accepted an application. Section 154-27(B) adds that no inquiry may come "before a first interview." An interview is "any direct contact by the employer with the applicant, whether in person or by telephone, to discuss the employment being sought or the applicant's qualifications." The definition does not mention video, so treat a video interview the way counsel advises.

The article covers convictions, defined as any sentence from a guilty verdict or plea, including incarceration, probation, a suspended sentence, an unconditional discharge or a diversion program. Arrests and sealed matters are governed by state law, below.

What are the exceptions?

• Licensed trades and professions (154-27(C)): the employer, including for interns and apprentices, may ask the same questions the licensing body asks, under state law.
• Legal bars (154-27(D)): where state or federal law makes certain convictions or violations a bar to the job, the employer may ask about those.
• Other laws (154-28(A)): the article does not apply where another law specifically authorizes the inquiry.
• Police and fire (154-28(B)): the Police and Fire Departments and any employer hiring police officers or peace officers as defined by Criminal Procedure Law 1.20 and 2.10.
• Schools and care providers (154-28(C)): any public or private school, and any public or private provider of direct services for the care or supervision of children, young adults, senior citizens, or people with physical or mental disabilities.

The care exception is broad: a home care agency or senior living operator in Buffalo is outside the article altogether, although Article 23-A and any state-required criminal history check still apply to it (see New York background check laws).

What Buffalo does not require

Unlike New York City, the article sets no notice form, written analysis or response period before a decision. Section 154-27(E) instead requires employers to comply with Correction Law Article 23-A when they consider a conviction, and confirms that an employer may withdraw a conditional offer for any lawful reason, including a direct relationship between the conviction and the job or an unreasonable risk. The statewide rules on Article 23-A, on arrests, sealed and dismissed matters, and on giving candidates a copy of Article 23-A with a background report apply in Buffalo too; they are on our New York ban-the-box page. Article 23-A reaches private employers with ten or more employees, so a Buffalo business with 10 to 14 employees is outside the city article but inside the state rule.

If a screening company prepares the report, follow the FCRA steps: disclosure and authorization, a pre-adverse action notice with the report and summary of rights, and a final notice (FCRA background check process). The EEOC rescinded its 2012 arrest and conviction records guidance on October 28, 2026, but Title VII still applies, and a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) fits the Article 23-A factors anyway.

Staffing agencies and recruiters

The definition of employment expressly includes work through a temporary or other employment agency, so a placement in Buffalo is covered work. An agency located in Buffalo with 15 or more employees is itself an employer under the article for its own applications and screens.

• Applications and portals: remove conviction questions from any application a Buffalo applicant fills in, including the agency's own registration forms.
• The recruiter screen: a recruiter's phone call can be the "interview," after which the article allows the question. Most agencies still leave criminal history to the client's process, so the question is asked once, consistently, and recorded by the party that will decide.
• No interview: temporary and high-volume placements often skip a client interview. The article then requires telling the applicant whether a criminal background check will be run before work begins; make that the agency's job in the client agreement, using the template below.
• Reports and notices: whoever orders the background report sends the FCRA notices and the copy of Article 23-A; agree in writing who that is.

Penalties and enforcement

Section 154-29 sets up three routes:

1. A private lawsuit. Any person aggrieved may sue for injunctive relief, damages and other relief, and the court may award a prevailing plaintiff a reasonable attorney's fee.
2. A complaint to the City. Any person or organization, aggrieved or not, may file a written complaint with the Commission on Citizens' Rights and Community Relations, on the Commission's form.
3. A City action for penalties. After the Commission's director certifies a probable cause finding, the director may ask the Corporation Counsel to sue for a $500 penalty for a first violation and $1,000 for each subsequent violation.

As of November 2026 we could not find a current page or complaint form for the Commission on the City of Buffalo's website, so a complainant should ask the City, for example the Corporation Counsel's office named in section 154-29, how to file.

How Buffalo compares with Rochester and New York City

Details: Rochester's ban-the-box law and the New York City Fair Chance Act.

Template: background check notice when there is no interview

An example to adapt for applicants hired or placed without an interview, sent before the start date:

"Thank you for applying for [job title] with [employer]. Because this position is being filled without an interview, we are letting you know before your start date that [we will / we will not] run a criminal background check. [If we will: The check happens only after you submit your application, we will ask for your written authorization first, and if anything in it might affect your offer you will receive a copy of the report and a chance to respond before any decision.]"

Buffalo rules at a glance

A Buffalo checklist for recruiting desks

1. Confirm the employer has 15 or more employees and a Buffalo location, or is a City vendor.
2. Strip conviction questions from preliminary and online applications and agency registration forms.
3. Keep the question out of recruiter screens; if the client asks it, it starts at the initial interview at the earliest.
4. For hires without an interview, send the background check notice before the start date.
5. Document any exception with the specific law, licence or school or care status that supports it.
6. Run any decision through Article 23-A and the FCRA steps, and keep volunteered information out of notes (what not to write in interview notes). For general scripts, see ban-the-box laws and interview questions.