Connecticut Background Check Laws

Connecticut's 'ban-the-box' law, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51i(b), generally bars employers from asking about a prospective employee's prior arrests, criminal charges or convictions on an initial employment application. The bar does not apply when an applicable state or federal law requires the question, or when a security or fidelity bond (or an equivalent bond) is required for the position. The statute's application rule addresses the initial application form. Other subsections bar requiring an employee or prospective employee to disclose erased criminal history record information and restrict denying employment or discharging a person solely because of an erased record, a provisional pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation.

Connecticut law does not directly amend or supersede the federal FCRA, but it adds additional layers of protection for applicants, particularly concerning the timing of criminal history inquiries. Employers must comply with both the FCRA's requirements for notice, consent, and adverse action procedures, as well as Connecticut's ban-the-box provisions.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-40z(b)(5) generally prohibits wage or salary history inquiries, including through a third party, unless the prospective employee voluntarily discloses the information or federal or state law specifically authorizes its disclosure or verification. Employers may ask about salary expectations.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51i restricts requiring disclosure of erased criminal records and limits the use of erased records, provisional pardons and certificates of rehabilitation; it is not a general seven-year reporting rule. Under federal FCRA § 605 [15 U.S.C. § 1681c], criminal convictions are excluded from the seven-year limit in § 605(a)(5). Civil suits, civil judgments and arrest records have the § 605(a)(2) seven-year-or-longer-statute-of-limitations rule. For employment at an annual salary equal to or reasonably expected to equal $75,000 or more, § 605(b)(3) excepts the time limits in § 605(a)(1)–(5), not all FCRA restrictions. State law and other applicable protections still require checking.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-51i bars employers from requiring an employee or prospective employee to disclose erased criminal history record information, and restricts denying employment or discharging a person solely because of an erased record, a provisional pardon or a certificate of rehabilitation. These state protections are separate from federal FCRA reporting time limits; the FCRA's seven-year limit on other adverse information does not apply to records of criminal convictions.