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HEA 1482 Requires Indiana Employers to Update Employment Application Language Related to Criminal Record History

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Effective July 1, 2013, Indiana’s House Enrolled Act No. 1482 is a new law with which Indiana employers, including national employers based elsewhere that employ individuals in the state of Indiana, must comply. It prevents employers from discriminating against or refusing employment to a person based on his/her expunged or sealed conviction or arrest records.

Employment Application Requirement & Punishment for Failure to Comply

In Sec. 10(c) of HEA 1482, it explicitly states that in “any application for employment…a person may be questioned about a previous criminal record only in terms that exclude expunged convictions or arrests, such as: ‘Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been expunged by a court?'” However, we urge you to consult with your employment law attorney for exact language appropriate for an employment application in your industry as in many cases asking about arrests of any sort on an employment application can be problematic.

It is critically important for Indiana employers to execute this change before July 1st as the law goes onto mention that any person that discriminates against an individual as the law describes, including soliciting information about arrests or convictions that have been expunged on an application for employment, is committing a Class C infraction and may be held in contempt of court.

What About Negligent Hiring Claims?

As a means to protect employers, the law allows for the introduction of an expungement order in judicial and administrative proceedings claiming negligent hiring, as evidence that an individual exercised appropriate care in the hiring process.

What if I Have Been Using the Same Employment Application for Applicants to Jobs in Different States, Including Indiana?

If your organization employs individuals in Indiana, as well as other states that do not require the new application language, please note that our applicant tracking software can create and support multiple external employment applications for your careers portal. Existing clients who are interested in learning more about this option should contact ExactHire Client Services.

How Can I Get the Conviction-Related Question Updated on my ATS?

Your ExactHire Client Services team can make this change very quickly and easily in your careers portal once you contact us and confirm exactly how you’d like the question worded. Again, we cannot offer legal advice and strongly urge you to contact your employment attorney to discuss how your application’s criminal record history-related question should be worded, as well as any examples of how Indiana state law HEA 1482 may be preempted by federal laws.

When we make this change in your portal, we can either reword the existing field on your application, or turn off the previous field and add a new field with the updated question text. Discuss these options with your Client Services representative to determine the best approach for your ATS application and organization. To update your existing application language, please contact us today at support@exacthire.com.

Still using paper applications, but ready for a web-based recruiting portal? Contact ExactHire today for a free 14-day trial of our applicant tracking system.

Applicant Tracking Software for Blue Collar Employers

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In my dealings with organizations around the country, I occasionally (though not as often as in the past) hear concerns about moving the hiring process online for positions that are entry-level or blue collar in nature.  I especially run across this objection when speaking with individuals from manufacturing companies. When digging a bit deeper with these organizations, the concerns typically boil down to two things:

  • Do their applicants have internet access readily available?
  • Are their applicants tech-savvy enough to complete employment applications online?

The first question is probably a bit easier to evaluate than the second.  According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent publication on the topic, “Computer and Internet Use in the United States: 2018,” around 85% of American households had internet access in 2018.  That means three out of every four applicants (on average) have internet in their home.  Beyond that, we also have to consider how many people have access to the internet through their smartphone or tablet device?  While there may not be any solid statistics to bring clarity to that question yet, I’m a believer that some reasonable percentage of the 25% population without home internet access do have access through one of these alternate devices.

Strategies for Applicants Without Internet Access

However, let’s look at this from a more pessimistic perspective.  To be fair, if I’m recruiting for positions that are more entry level or blue collar, I don’t want to potentially miss 15% of my applicant pool because they don’t have internet access.  If you subscribe to that theory, below are some things our clients have done to make our applicant tracking software more accessible for those who may not have regular access to the internet:

  • Set up kiosks so applicants may apply on-site.  Going this route doesn’t mean you have to purchase new laptops or desktops (or even tablets).  Instead, simply have your IT staff (or an outside group for very few dollars) repurpose older computers so that they may be used in a lobby or office for just this purpose.
    • If applicants do not have a current email address, then make sure your web-based employment application includes a link to a free email provider within its instructions – so that the applicant may create a new email account on the spot and then use it to complete the required email field on the application.
  • Suggest to applicants that they may access your career portal for free from most libraries.  All they need is a library card (also free), and they may apply like any other applicant.
  • Partner with your local Workforce Development office.  Given that its mission is to help create and/or fill jobs for local organizations, the staff there may be happy to allow applicants to complete your online application from their office.
  • As a last resort (if none of the above work), suggest to applicants that they use the computer of a friend or family member.  While I don’t anticipate it would come to this often, it does virtually guarantee that they’ll know someone with internet access.

Applicants Who Are Not Tech-Savvy

Now, on to the second question from above — are the applicants tech-savvy enough to complete online employment applications available through your applicant tracking software?  The reason this is more difficult to answer is because there are a handful of things that can influence the answer.  Chief among them are:

  • How user-friendly is the paperless application you’re using?  If designed properly, a good ATS should walk applicants through the process of finding and applying for the right job in a very simple, intuitive way.
  • What is the typical demographic you’re hiring for these positions?  There are some groups of people where access to internet and overall computer usage is lower than the national average.  Again, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s data, examples include households where the median age is above 65, and households located in rural areas with limited availability to purchase/use internet services.  If you happen to target these demographics, you may need to have manual options available on very limited stand-by for cases where accessing a web-based application doesn’t work for applicants.

So, if you hire entry-level or blue collar staff regularly, please take a look at your hiring landscape.  Feel free to use the guidelines above to help determine whether the advantages of applicant tracking software may be realized for your company, despite any initial concerns regarding affecting your applicant flow.

Image credit: Perfection is our Direction by Nick Harris1 (contact)