Portland ban-the-box ordinance for employers (2026): the conditional offer rule and the rescission notice

Portland's ban-the-box ordinance, City Code chapter 23.10, "Removing Barriers to Employment," lets employers with six or more employees consider an applicant's criminal history only after a conditional offer, for jobs performed a majority of the time in Portland; accessing it earlier is a violation. To rescind an offer, the employer must decide in good faith, after an individualized assessment, that a specific offense is job related and consistent with business necessity, and must tell the applicant in writing which convictions it relied on. As of November 2026 that is stricter than Oregon's statewide rule, and complaints go to the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI).

What is Portland City Code chapter 23.10?

Chapter 23.10 was added by Ordinance 187459, effective December 25, 2015, and enforcement began July 1, 2016 (23.10.100). Ordinance 187678 amended the definitions, and Ordinance 191973 amended nearly every section effective January 1, 2025; the current text gives the City Administrator the power to adopt rules and to contract with BOLI. The working detail is in the city's administrative rules, numbered RBE 1.01 to 3.05, with a Criminal History Matrix (Exhibit A) and a model rescission notice (Exhibit B), filed with Ordinance 187795 in 2016 and published on the city's records site.

Who is covered?

• Six or more employees. 23.10.020 defines an employer as "any person or entity who directly or through an agent employs another for a position being performed a majority of the time within Portland," and excludes employers with fewer than six employees, the federal and state governments and local governments other than the City.
• Where the job is done. The test is the position, not the employer's address. By its wording, a role worked from a home in Portland more than half the time is covered; we found no Portland rule that addresses remote work directly.
• Every kind of job. "Employ" covers full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal work where the employer controls how the work is done.

Exceptions

Under 23.10.040 and RBE 2.04, the chapter's prohibitions do not apply:

• where federal, state or local law, including rules and regulations, requires considering criminal history;
• to law enforcement agencies and employers in the criminal justice system; or
• to nonemployee volunteer positions.

For sensitive positions, the employer may consider criminal history "at any point in the hiring process" but must follow the rest of the chapter: jobs with direct access to or services for children, the elderly, people with disabilities, people with mental illness or people with alcohol or drug dependence; jobs designated by rule for public safety or business necessity, which RBE 2.04(4)(c) lists as master key holders, tow truck operators, drivers of goods, equipment, property or people, jobs with access to confidential personnel or medical information, and jobs needing mandatory insurance bonding; and jobs in a government program to employ people with records.

When can a Portland employer ask about criminal history?

Only after a conditional offer. 23.10.030(B): "An employer may consider an applicant's criminal history in the hiring process only after making a conditional offer of employment. An employer violates this Chapter if an employer accesses an applicant's criminal history prior to making a conditional offer of employment." A conditional offer is one conditioned solely on the criminal history results or on another contingency "expressly communicated to the applicant at the time of the offer." The rules go further:

• No gathering. RBE 2.02(2) bars "any direct or indirect conduct that is intended or objectively likely to result in the gathering or disclosure" of criminal history before the offer, naming background checks and questions on an application or in an interview.
• Self-disclosure. If an applicant volunteers a record anyway, the employer "must disregard that information," must take reasonable steps to prevent further disclosure, and may not base the offer decision on it (RBE 2.02(3)).
• Arrests and records the employer may never use. Even after the offer, the employer may not consider an arrest that did not lead to a conviction (unless charges are pending or the crime is unresolved), convictions judicially voided or expunged, or charges resolved through diversion or deferral for offenses not involving physical harm or attempted harm to a person (23.10.030(E)).

Oregon's statute, ORS 659A.360, draws the line earlier, at the initial interview, as our Oregon ban-the-box page explains; BOLI's own hiring discrimination page calls the Portland ordinance "more stringent" and describes both, so a Portland employer follows the later Portland line.

What must happen before a Portland employer rescinds an offer?

1. Make the conditional offer first, in a form that names any other contingency (drug test, references, license check) at the time of the offer.
2. Get the report through the FCRA disclosure and authorization if a consumer reporting agency prepares it.
3. Remove what you may not consider: non-conviction arrests (unless pending), voided or expunged convictions, and qualifying diversion outcomes.
4. Do the individualized assessment of "the nature and gravity of the criminal offense," "the time that has elapsed since the criminal offense took place," and "the nature of the employment held or sought" (23.10.030(D)), and decide in good faith whether the offense is job related and consistent with business necessity. For jobs serving children, older adults, people with disabilities, mental illness or dependence, you may use the Criminal History Matrix instead, for the offenses it lists.
5. Send the written notice promptly, identifying "the specific item of Criminal History on which the rescission is based and the source" (RBE 2.03(5)). Writing means paper delivered in person, by mail or courier, email, or another permanent record, and "does not include telephonic voicemail or text messaging."
6. Keep it confidential. Criminal history must stay confidential "except where disclosure is required by law" (23.10.070).

Portland sets no waiting period between the assessment and the decision. If the report came from a consumer reporting agency, the FCRA pre-adverse action notice, report copy and summary of rights must still go out before the final decision; see the FCRA background check process.

How does the Criminal History Matrix work?

The matrix in Exhibit A covers only positions with direct access to or services for children under 18, people with disabilities, people 65 and older, people with mental illness, and people with alcohol or drug dependence. It sorts Oregon offenses, including attempts, conspiracy and solicitation, into Category A (aggravated murder, murder, rape I, sodomy I, unlawful sexual penetration I and sexual abuse I), Category B (a longer list including manslaughter, assault, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, identity theft and child sex offenses) and Category C (felony drug manufacture and delivery offenses).

Every conviction the matrix does not list still needs the individualized assessment.

Who enforces it, and what are the penalties?

Under 23.10.060, the City may contract with BOLI, which then has the same powers and remedies it has under ORS 659A.820 to 659A.865, the state's civil rights complaint process. Under the rules, an applicant files a complaint with BOLI within 180 days after receiving the rescission notice (RBE 3.02); the City, the BOLI Commissioner or the Attorney General may also file. Where the City brings an action against an employer with "a pattern and practice" of violations, BOLI may add a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, payable to the City (RBE 3.04). There is no private right of action in circuit court (RBE 3.01(4)). BOLI's hiring discrimination page, as of November 2026, still lists City Code 23.10.030 among the laws it covers and links its complaint page; we did not find the current city and BOLI agreement itself.

What happened when BOLI enforced it against a staffing firm?

In In the Matter of Insight Global, LLC (BOLI case 76-18), which BOLI called "a case of first impression" under the ordinance, a staffing company's recruiter interviewed a candidate in its Portland office and then had him complete an online application that required a yes-or-no answer to a felony conviction question, included for Work Opportunity Tax Credit screening. BOLI found violations of 23.10.030(A) and (B) and RBE 2.02(1) to (3), and its amended final order, issued June 18, 2020, awarded $7,960 in lost wages and $15,000 for emotional distress and required training for staff who deal with Portland applicants. BOLI also found no conflict with the tax credit rules, noting that an employer could gather that information after a conditional offer, even on the same day.

Staffing agencies and recruiters: who sends which notice?

The definition covers employers acting "directly or through an agent," and the case above shows BOLI treating a staffing firm as the employer for its own applicants. In practice:

• Agency forms and portals: no criminal history or "have you been convicted" questions, including tax credit questionnaires, before a conditional offer for a Portland role.
• Temporary and contract placements: the agency makes the conditional offer, runs the check, does the assessment and sends the written rescission notice and any FCRA notices.
• Direct hire: the client makes the conditional offer and sends the notice; the recruiter's screen and submittal carry no criminal history. Agree this at intake.
• Sensitive positions: if a client claims an exception, get the law or the rule category in writing and note it on the requisition.

Anything a candidate volunteers stays out of notes and submittals; see what not to write in interview notes.

A copy-ready Portland rescission notice

An example, adapted from the elements RBE 2.03(5) requires; send it by email or on paper, never by text:

Subject: Your conditional offer for [position]
Dear [name], on [date] we made you a conditional offer of employment for [position]. After that offer we reviewed your criminal history and completed an individualized assessment of the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it, and the nature of this job. Based on that assessment we are rescinding the offer because of the following item: [conviction, court, date]. The source of this information is [consumer reporting agency name, address, phone, website], and a copy of the report is attached. You may contact that company about any error, omission or misstatement. [If a consumer reporting agency prepared the report, attach the FCRA summary of rights and follow the pre-adverse action step first.] Sincerely, [name, title, contact].

For wording on the earlier FCRA steps, see background check notification emails, and for a written process, the background check policy template.

What about federal rules?

Title VII still applies, although the EEOC rescinded its 2012 arrest and conviction records guidance on October 28, 2026. Portland's individualized assessment is city law and unaffected; its three factors match the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case.

Summary: Portland's ban-the-box ordinance at a glance

For the rest of Oregon's background check rules, see Oregon background check laws; for Washington city rules, see Seattle's Fair Chance Employment Ordinance and Spokane's fair chance hiring ordinance.