Friday, April 9, 2021 Changes to Philadelphia law will further restrict employers’ use and reliance on applicant, current employee, and independent contractor background information and affect the employee application and employee management process. Amendments to Philadelphia’s Unlawful Credit Screening Practices in Employment ordinance and Fair Criminal Record Screenings Standards ordinance (FCRSS), commonly referred to as the “Ban the Box” regulation, took effect March 21, 2021, and April 1, 2021, respectively. The regulations supplement the governing requirements of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Pennsylvania’s Criminal History Record Information Act (CHRIA). Changes to Unlawful Credit Screening Practices in Employment Bill No. 200614 amends the Unlawful Credit Screening Practices in Employment ordinance to clarify that Philadelphia employers following the FCRA’s adverse action regulations are also in compliance Philadelphia requirements. The credit ban ordinance requires employers to disclose their reliance on credit information to the applicant or employee in writing, identify the particular information upon which the adverse decision was based, and “give the employee or applicant an opportunity to explain the circumstances surrounding the information at issue before taking any such adverse action.”