HR 6419 is titled Fair Chance Improvement Act and if passed would “revise provisions regarding the prohibition on federal contractors, including defense contractors, inquiring about applicants’ criminal histories prior to conditional offers of employment.” The cost to implement this change would be negligible, according to the Representative introducing it.With this bill there are at least two parts to contemplate:
(1) should applicants’ criminal histories be reviewed prior to conditional offers of employment? And if you believe it should be then
(2) should this task be switched from the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to the Department of Labor as the bill states it will be?
- Is the Department of Labor equipped to investigate contractors with top-secret clearances for national safety concerns?
- Will this change the mission of the Department of Labor?
- Will this actually add cost to train and hire people qualified for reviewing potential federal contractors with top secret clearance?
Status: Died in a previous Congress
Although this bill was not enacted, its provisions could have become law by being included in another bill. It is common for legislative text to be introduced concurrently in multiple bills (called companion bills), re-introduced in subsequent sessions of Congress in new bills, or added to larger bills (sometimes called omnibus bills).