Connecticut ban-the-box law: CGS 31-51i for recruiters

Connecticut's ban-the-box law, General Statutes section 31-51i, stops employers from asking about a prospective employee's prior arrests, criminal charges or convictions on an initial employment application. It applies to private employers with even one employee as well as to the state and its towns. The statute also bars anyone, including an employer's agent, from requiring disclosure of erased criminal records, and from turning someone down solely because of an erased record, a provisional pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation. For a recruiter the working rule is: no criminal history question on the application or intake form, never a question about erased records, and nothing in your notes that a candidate volunteers.

The statute

Section 31-51i dates to 1969 and was rewritten several times, most recently by Public Act 21-32. The subsections that matter in hiring:

• (b) The application rule. "No employer shall inquire about a prospective employee's prior arrests, criminal charges or convictions on an initial employment application," unless the employer is required to by an applicable state or federal law, or a security or fidelity bond or an equivalent bond is required for the position.
• (c) Erased records. No employer or employer's agent, representative or designee may require an employee or prospective employee to disclose the existence of erased criminal history record information.
• (d) The application notice. Any application form that contains a criminal history question must state, in clear and conspicuous language, that the applicant need not disclose erased records, what erased records are, and that a person with erased records is deemed never to have been arrested for those proceedings and may so swear under oath.
• (e) and (f) Decisions. No employer or agent may deny employment, or discharge or discriminate against an employee, solely because of an erased record, or a prior conviction for which the person received a provisional pardon or certificate of rehabilitation.
• (g) Who sees it. The criminal history part of an application is available only to the personnel department (or the person in charge of employment) and to people involved in interviewing the applicant, with narrow extra exceptions for broker-dealers, insured banks and insurance producers in subsection (h).

Who is covered

Section 31-51i(a) adopts the definition in section 46a-80a: an employer "includes the state and all political subdivisions of the state and means any person or employer with one or more persons in such person's or employer's employ." There is no size threshold, so the rule reaches very small private employers even though its timing rule is limited to the initial application.

Connecticut also has a separate rule in section 46a-80(b): except for positions where a statute specifically disqualifies people with convictions from state employment, "no employer, as defined in section 46a-80a, shall inquire about a prospective employee's conviction information until such prospective employee has been deemed otherwise qualified for the position." The rest of section 46a-80 deals with the state and its agencies, and we did not find official guidance on how far subsection (b) reaches private employers. Because the definition it cites covers employers of one or more people, the cautious reading for any Connecticut role is to hold conviction questions until the candidate has been judged otherwise qualified.

What is allowed at each stage

The application rule speaks of the "initial employment application" and arrests, charges and convictions together. The statute does not define "initial," and it does not say anything about phone screens or online searches. Erased records cover more than people expect: under 46a-80a they include records erased under section 54-142a or 54-76o or by any other statute or operation of law, youthful offender information, and continuances of a criminal case more than thirteen months old. A recruiter cannot tell from a conversation whether a record has been erased, which is one more reason to keep the topic out of screens entirely.

Individualized assessment and notices

For private employers, section 31-51i does not prescribe an individualized assessment, a preliminary notice or a response period before a conviction-based rejection. Its decision rules are the bans on rejecting someone solely because of an erased record, a provisional pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation.

For the state and its agencies, section 46a-80 goes further: a person may be denied state employment on the basis of conviction information only after considering the nature of the crime and its relationship to the job, the degree of rehabilitation, and the time elapsed since the conviction or release. A rejection based on conviction information must be in writing, state the evidence and reasons, and be sent by registered mail. A provisional pardon or certificate of rehabilitation creates a presumption of rehabilitation. Private employers still face federal Title VII and the EEOC's guidance on arrest and conviction records, which asks about the same kind of factors.

Staffing agencies and recruiters

Subsections (c), (e) and (f) apply expressly to an "employer or employer's agent, representative or designee." An agency that screens for a Connecticut client is acting as that client's agent and is also an employer in its own right for the temporary workers it places. Two practical consequences:

• Strip arrest, charge and conviction questions from the agency's own application and from any client form you send candidates, unless the client documents a law or bond requirement for the specific role.
• If a client form does ask about criminal history (because an exception applies), confirm it carries the erased records notice in subsection (d) before you send it.

Penalties and enforcement

Section 31-51i(j) splits enforcement. Complaints about subsections (a), (c), (g), (h) and (i) go to the Labor Commissioner. For subsections (b), (d), (e) and (f), which include the application rule and the decision rules, the employee or applicant may file with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities under section 46a-82 or sue in Superior Court for declaratory or injunctive relief, damages or any other remedy available under law, "at the sole election" of the employee or applicant. The section sets no fixed fine, and we have not listed damages amounts.

How it fits with FCRA adverse action

Connecticut adds a duty for screening companies: under 31-51i(i), a consumer reporting agency that reports criminal matters of public record for employment purposes must notify the consumer at the time it issues the report and give the name and address of the recipient, and keep procedures to make sure the record is complete and up to date. The employer's federal FCRA duties sit on top: a stand-alone disclosure and written authorization before the check, a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the summary of rights before rejecting, a reasonable wait, then the adverse action notice. Our FCRA background check guide walks through those steps, and background check notification emails has sample wording.

A script for Connecticut screens

The candidate volunteers a record

"Thanks for telling me. Criminal history isn't part of my screen, so I won't ask about it or write it down. Let's get back to the role."

The candidate asks whether an old case will show up

"I can't advise on that. What I can tell you is that in Connecticut you never have to disclose a record that has been erased, and if the employer runs a background check you'll be asked for permission first."

The client wants a conviction question on the intake form

"Connecticut doesn't allow that on an initial application unless a law requires it or the job needs a fidelity bond. If one of those applies, tell me which, and the form will need the erased records notice."

A Connecticut checklist for recruiting desks

1. Remove arrest, charge and conviction questions from applications, ATS knockout questions and intake forms for Connecticut roles.
2. Record any exception at intake: the specific law that requires the question, or the bond requirement.
3. Never ask whether a record was erased, sealed or pardoned, and never write volunteered details into submittals. See what not to write in interview notes.
4. Hold conviction questions until the candidate has been judged otherwise qualified, and leave them to the client's process.
5. Limit access to any criminal history portion of a form to the people subsection (g) allows.
6. For the federal picture and other states' rules, see ban-the-box laws and interview questions and, for New York roles on the same desk, New York's ban-the-box law.