Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2017

Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2017 or the Fair Chance Act

This bill prohibits federal agencies and federal contractors from requesting that applicants for employment disclose criminal history record information before receiving a conditional offer (an offer of employment conditioned upon the results of a criminal history inquiry). The bill sets forth positions to which such prohibition shall not apply, such as positions for which prior consideration of criminal history record information is otherwise required by law, positions with law enforcement and national security duties, and positions requiring access to classified information.

The bill prohibits agencies from requiring an individual or sole proprietor who submits a bid for a contract to disclose criminal history record information regarding that individual or sole proprietor before determining the apparent awardee.

The Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Compliance, the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the General Services Administration, and the Department of Defense must: (1) establish procedures for submitting complaints about, and taking actions against, agency employees and contractors for violating such prohibitions and for appealing such an action; and (2) issue regulations to implement this bill. The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council shall revise the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement the requirements of this bill.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics, in coordination with the Bureau of the Census, must: (1) design and initiate a study on the employment of individuals who are released from federal prison after completing a term of imprisonment for a federal criminal offense, and (2) report to Congress at specified intervals.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov