I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1905 

To prohibit Federal agencies and Federal contractors from requesting that 

an applicant for employment disclose criminal history record information 

before the applicant has received a conditional offer, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 5, 2017 

Mr. CUMMINGS (for himself, Mr. ISSA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. CONYERS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. COHEN, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. 

PAYNE, Ms. BASS, and Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and in addition to the Committees on 

House Administration, the Judiciary, Armed Services, and Education and 

the Workforce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To prohibit Federal agencies and Federal contractors from 

requesting that an applicant for employment disclose 

criminal history record information before the applicant 

has received a conditional offer, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Chance to Com3 pete for Jobs Act of 2017’’ or the ‘‘Fair Chance Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIRIES 

5 PRIOR TO CONDITIONAL OFFER FOR FED6 ERAL EMPLOYMENT. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart H of part III of title 5, 

8 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘CHAPTER 92—PROHIBITION ON CRIMI11 NAL HISTORY INQUIRIES PRIOR TO 

12 CONDITIONAL OFFER 

‘‘Sec. 

‘‘9201. Definitions. 

‘‘9202. Limitations on requests for criminal history record information. 

‘‘9203. Agency policies; complaint procedures. 

‘‘9204. Adverse action. 

‘‘9205. Procedures. 

‘‘9206. Rules of construction. 

13 ‘‘§ 9201. Definitions 

14 ‘‘In this chapter— 

15 ‘‘(1) the term ‘agency’ means ‘Executive agen16 cy’ as such term is defined in section 105 and in17 cludes— 

18 ‘‘(A) the United States Postal Service and 

19 the Postal Regulatory Commission; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the Executive Office of the President; 

21 ‘‘(2) the term ‘appointing authority’ means an 

22 employee in the executive branch of the Government 


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1 of the United States that has authority to make ap2 pointments to positions in the civil service; 

3 ‘‘(3) the term ‘conditional offer’ means an offer 

4 of employment in a position in the civil service that 

5 is conditioned upon the results of a criminal history 

6 inquiry; 

7 ‘‘(4) the term ‘criminal history record informa8 tion’— 

9 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraph 

10 (B), has the meaning given the term in section 

11 9101(a); 

12 ‘‘(B) includes any information described in 

13 the first sentence of section 9101(a)(2) that has 

14 been sealed or expunged pursuant to law; and 

15 ‘‘(C) includes information collected by a 

16 criminal justice agency, relating to an act or al17 leged act of juvenile delinquency, that is analo18 gous to criminal history record information (in19 cluding such information that has been sealed 

20 or expunged pursuant to law); and 

21 ‘‘(5) the term ‘suspension’ has the meaning 

22 given the term in section 7501. 


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1 ‘‘§ 9202. Limitations on requests for criminal history 

2 record information 

3 ‘‘(a) INQUIRIES PRIOR TO CONDITIONAL OFFER.— 

4 Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c), an employee 

5 of an agency may not request, in oral or written form (in6 cluding through the Declaration for Federal Employment 

7 (Office of Personnel Management Optional Form 306), or 

8 any similar successor form), including through the 

9 USAJOBS internet website or any other electronic means, 

10 that an applicant for an appointment to a position in the 

11 civil service disclose criminal history record information 

12 regarding the applicant before the appointing authority 

13 extends a conditional offer to the applicant. 

14 ‘‘(b) OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY LAW.—The prohibi15 tion under subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to 

16 an applicant for a position in the civil service if consider17 ation of criminal history record information prior to a con18 ditional offer with respect to the position is otherwise re19 quired by law. 

20 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS.—The 

21 prohibition under subsection (a) shall not apply with re22 spect to an applicant for an appointment to a position— 

23 ‘‘(1) that requires a determination of eligibility 

24 described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of section 

25 9101(b)(1)(A); or 


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1 ‘‘(2) as a Federal law enforcement officer (as 

2 defined in section 115(c) of title 18). 

3 ‘‘§ 9203. Agency policies; complaint procedures 

4 ‘‘The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage5 ment shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) develop, implement, and publish a policy to 

7 assist employees of agencies in complying with sec8 tion 9202 and the regulations issued pursuant to 

9 such section; and 

10 ‘‘(2) establish and publish procedures under 

11 which an applicant for an appointment to a position 

12 in the civil service may submit a complaint, or any 

13 other information, relating to compliance by an em14 ployee of an agency with section 9202. 

15 ‘‘§ 9204. Adverse action 

16 ‘‘(a) FIRST VIOLATION.—If the Director of the Office 

17 of Personnel Management determines, after notice and an 

18 opportunity for a hearing on the record, that an employee 

19 of an agency has violated section 9202, the Director 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) issue to the employee a written warning 

22 that includes a description of the violation and the 

23 additional penalties that may apply for subsequent 

24 violations; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) file such warning in the employee’s official 

2 personnel record file. 

3 ‘‘(b) SUBSEQUENT VIOLATIONS.—If the Director of 

4 the Office of Personnel Management determines, after no5 tice and an opportunity for a hearing on the record, that 

6 an employee that was subject to subsection (a) has com7 mitted a subsequent violation of section 9202, the Director 

8 may take the following action: 

9 ‘‘(1) For a second violation, suspension of the 

10 employee for a period of not more than 7 days. 

11 ‘‘(2) For a third violation, suspension of the 

12 employee for a period of more than 7 days. 

13 ‘‘(3) For a fourth violation— 

14 ‘‘(A) suspension of the employee for a pe15 riod of more than 7 days; and 

16 ‘‘(B) a civil penalty against the employee 

17 in an amount that is not more than $250. 

18 ‘‘(4) For a fifth violation— 

19 ‘‘(A) suspension of the employee for a pe20 riod of more than 7 days; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a civil penalty against the employee 

22 in an amount that is not more than $500. 

23 ‘‘(5) For any subsequent violation— 

24 ‘‘(A) suspension of the employee for a pe25 riod of more than 7 days; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) a civil penalty against the employee 

2 in an amount that is not more than $1,000. 

3 ‘‘§ 9205. Procedures 

4 ‘‘(a) APPEALS.—The Director of the Office of Per5 sonnel Management shall by rule establish procedures pro6 viding for an appeal from any adverse action taken under 

7 section 9204 by not later than 30 days after the date of 

8 the action. 

9 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.—An adverse 

10 action taken under section 9204 (including a determina11 tion in an appeal from such an action under subsection 

12 (a) of this section) shall not be subject to— 

13 ‘‘(1) the procedures under chapter 75; or 

14 ‘‘(2) except as provided in subsection (a) of this 

15 section, appeal or judicial review. 

16 ‘‘§ 9206. Rules of construction 

17 ‘‘Nothing in this chapter may be construed to— 

18 ‘‘(1) authorize any officer or employee of an 

19 agency to request the disclosure of information de20 scribed under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 

21 9201(4); or 

22 ‘‘(2) create a private right of action for any 

23 person.’’. 

24 (b) REGULATIONS; EFFECTIVE DATE.— 


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1 (1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of 

3 the Office of Personnel Management shall issue such 

4 regulations as are necessary to carry out chapter 92 

5 of title 5, United States Code (as added by this 

6 Act). 

7 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 9202 of title 5, 

8 United States Code (as added by this Act), shall 

9 take effect on the date that is 2 years after the date 

10 of enactment of this Act. 

11 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

12 The table of chapters for part III of title 5, United States 

13 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

14 chapter 91 the following: 

‘‘92. Prohibition on criminal history inquiries prior to 

conditional offer .................................................... 9201’’. 

15 (d) APPLICATION TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Congressional Account17 ability Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is 

18 amended— 

19 (A) in section 102(a) (2 U.S.C. 1302(a)), 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(12) Section 9202 of title 5, United States 

22 Code.’’; 

23 (B) by redesignating section 207 (2 U.S.C. 

24 1317) as section 208; and 


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1 (C) by inserting after section 206 (2 

2 U.S.C. 1316) the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 207. RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS RELATING TO CRIMI4 NAL HISTORY INQUIRIES. 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘agen6 cy’, ‘criminal history record information’, and ‘suspension’ 

7 have the meanings given the terms in section 9201 of title 

8 5, United States Code, except as otherwise modified by 

9 this section. 

10 ‘‘(b) RESTRICTIONS ON CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIR11 IES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

14 subparagraph (B), an employee of an employing 

15 office may not request that an applicant for em16 ployment as a covered employee disclose crimi17 nal history record information if the request 

18 would be prohibited under section 9202 of title 

19 5, United States Code, if made by an employee 

20 of an agency. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONDITIONAL OFFER.—For purposes 

22 of applying section 9202 of title 5, United 

23 States Code, under subparagraph (A), a ref24 erence in such section to a conditional offer in 

25 such section shall be considered to be an offer 


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1 of employment to a covered employee that is 

2 conditioned upon the results of a criminal his3 tory inquiry. 

4 ‘‘(2) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—The provi5 sions of section 9206 of title 5, United States Code, 

6 shall apply to employing offices, consistent with reg7 ulations issued under subsection (d). 

8 ‘‘(c) REMEDY.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The remedy for a violation 

10 of subsection (b)(1) shall be such remedy as would 

11 be appropriate if awarded under section 9204 of title 

12 5, United States Code, if the violation had been 

13 committed by an employee of an agency, consistent 

14 with regulations issued under subsection (d), except 

15 that the reference in that section to a suspension 

16 shall be considered to be a suspension with the level 

17 of compensation provided for a covered employee 

18 who is taking unpaid leave under section 202. 

19 ‘‘(2) PROCESS FOR OBTAINING RELIEF.—An 

20 applicant for employment as a covered employee who 

21 alleges a violation of subsection (b)(1) may rely on 

22 the provisions of title IV (other than sections 

23 404(2), 407, and 408), consistent with regulations 

24 issued under subsection (d). 

25 ‘‘(d) REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT SECTION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

2 after the date of enactment of the Fair Chance to 

3 Compete for Jobs Act of 2017, the Board shall, pur4 suant to section 304, issue regulations to implement 

5 this section. 

6 ‘‘(2) PARALLEL WITH AGENCY REGULATIONS.— 

7 The regulations issued under paragraph (1) shall be 

8 the same as substantive regulations issued by the 

9 Director of the Office of Personnel Management 

10 under section 2(b)(1) of the Fair Chance to Com11 pete for Jobs Act of 2017 to implement the statu12 tory provisions referred to in subsections (a) through 

13 (c) except to the extent that the Board may deter14 mine, for good cause shown and stated together with 

15 the regulation, that a modification of such regula16 tions would be more effective for the implementation 

17 of the rights and protections under this section. 

18 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 102(a)(12) and 

19 subsections (a) through (c) shall take effect on the date 

20 on which section 9202 of title 5, United States Code, ap21 plies with respect to agencies.’’. 

22 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con23 tents of such Act is amended— 


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1 (A) by redesignating the item relating to 

2 section 207 as the item relating to section 208; 

3 and 

4 (B) by inserting after the item relating to 

5 section 206 the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 207. Rights and protections relating to criminal history inquiries.’’. 

6 (e) APPLICATION TO JUDICIAL BRANCH.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 604 of title 28, 

8 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) RESTRICTIONS ON CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIR11 IES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 

13 ‘‘(A) the terms ‘agency’ and ‘criminal his14 tory record information’ have the meanings 

15 given those terms in section 9201 of title 5; 

16 ‘‘(B) the term ‘covered employee’ means an 

17 employee of the judicial branch of the United 

18 States Government, other than— 

19 ‘‘(i) any judge or justice who is enti20 tled to hold office during good behavior; 

21 ‘‘(ii) a United States magistrate 

22 judge; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) a bankruptcy judge; and 

24 ‘‘(C) the term ‘employing office’ means any 

25 office or entity of the judicial branch of the 


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1 United States Government that employs covered 

2 employees. 

3 ‘‘(2) RESTRICTION.—A covered employee may 

4 not request that an applicant for employment as a 

5 covered employee disclose criminal history record in6 formation if the request would be prohibited under 

7 section 9202 of title 5 if made by an employee of an 

8 agency. 

9 ‘‘(3) EMPLOYING OFFICE POLICIES; COMPLAINT

10 PROCEDURE.—The provisions of sections 9203 and 

11 9206 of title 5 shall apply to employing offices and 

12 to applicants for employment as covered employees, 

13 consistent with regulations issued by the Director to 

14 implement this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(4) ADVERSE ACTION.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ADVERSE ACTION.—The Director 

17 may take such adverse action with respect to a 

18 covered employee who violates paragraph (2) as 

19 would be appropriate under section 9204 of 

20 title 5 if the violation had been committed by 

21 an employee of an agency. 

22 ‘‘(B) APPEALS.—The Director shall by 

23 rule establish procedures providing for an ap24 peal from any adverse action taken under subVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:11 Apr 12, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1905.IH H1905

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1 paragraph (A) by not later than 30 days after 

2 the date of the action. 

3 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.— 

4 Except as provided in subparagraph (B), an ad5 verse action taken under subparagraph (A) (in6 cluding a determination in an appeal from such 

7 an action under subparagraph (B)) shall not be 

8 subject to appeal or judicial review. 

9 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS TO BE ISSUED.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 

11 months after the date of enactment of the Fair 

12 Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2017, the 

13 Director shall issue regulations to implement 

14 this subsection. 

15 ‘‘(B) PARALLEL WITH AGENCY REGULA16 TIONS.—The regulations issued under subpara17 graph (A) shall be the same as substantive reg18 ulations promulgated by the Director of the Of19 fice of Personnel Management under section 

20 2(b)(1) of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs 

21 Act of 2017 except to the extent that the Direc22 tor of the Administrative Office of the United 

23 States Courts may determine, for good cause 

24 shown and stated together with the regulation, 

25 that a modification of such regulations would be 


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1 more effective for the implementation of the 

2 rights and protections under this subsection. 

3 ‘‘(6) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraphs (1) 

4 through (4) shall take effect on the date on which 

5 section 9202 of title 5 applies with respect to agen6 cies.’’. 

7 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIRIES BY 

8 CONTRACTORS PRIOR TO CONDITIONAL 

9 OFFER. 

10 (a) CIVILIAN AGENCY CONTRACTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Division C of subtitle I of 

12 title 41, United States Code, is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 4713. Prohibition on criminal history inquiries by 

15 contractors prior to conditional offer 

16 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIR17 IES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graphs (2) and (3), an executive agency— 

20 ‘‘(A) may not require that an individual or 

21 sole proprietor who submits a bid for a contract 

22 to disclose criminal history record information 

23 regarding that individual or sole proprietor be24 fore determining the apparent awardee; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall require as a condition of receiv2 ing a Federal contract and receiving payments 

3 under such contract that the contractor may 

4 not verbally, or through written form, request 

5 the disclosure of criminal history record infor6 mation regarding an applicant for a position re7 lated to work under such contract before the 

8 contractor extends a conditional offer to the ap9 plicant. 

10 ‘‘(2) OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY LAW.—The 

11 prohibition under paragraph (1) does not apply with 

12 respect to a contract if consideration of criminal his13 tory record information prior to a conditional offer 

14 with respect to the position is otherwise required by 

15 law. 

16 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS.— 

17 The prohibition under paragraph (1) does not apply 

18 with respect to a contract that requires an individual 

19 hired under the contract to access classified informa20 tion or to have sensitive law enforcement or national 

21 security duties. 

22 ‘‘(b) COMPLAINT PROCEDURES.—The Administrator 

23 of General Services shall establish and publish procedures 

24 under which an applicant for a position with a Federal 

25 contractor may submit to the Administrator a complaint, 


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1 or any other information, relating to compliance by the 

2 contractor with subsection (a)(1)(B). 

3 ‘‘(c) ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF PROHIBITION ON

4 CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIRIES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) FIRST VIOLATION.—If the head of an exec6 utive agency determines that a contractor has vio7 lated subsection (a)(1)(B), such head shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) notify the contractor; 

9 ‘‘(B) provide 30 days after such notifica10 tion for the contractor to appeal the determina11 tion; and 

12 ‘‘(C) issue a written warning to the con13 tractor that includes a description of the viola14 tion and the additional remedies that may apply 

15 for subsequent violations. 

16 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION.—If the head of 

17 an executive agency determines that a contractor 

18 that was subject to paragraph (1) has committed a 

19 subsequent violation of subsection (a)(1)(B), such 

20 head shall notify the contractor, shall provide 30 

21 days after such notification for the contractor to ap22 peal the determination, and, in consultation with the 

23 relevant Federal agencies, may take actions, depend24 ing on the severity of the infraction and the contrac25 tor’s history of violations, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing written guidance to the 

2 contractor that the contractor’s eligibility for 

3 contracts requires compliance with this section; 

4 ‘‘(B) requiring that the contractor respond 

5 within 30 days affirming that the contractor is 

6 taking steps to comply with this section; 

7 ‘‘(C) suspending payment under the con8 tract for which the applicant was being consid9 ered; 

10 ‘‘(D) terminating the contract under which 

11 the applicant was being considered; and 

12 ‘‘(E) referring the contractor to the sus13 pension and debarment office of the agency for 

14 consideration of actions pursuant to section 9.4 

15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

16 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) CONDITIONAL OFFER.—The term ‘condi18 tional offer’ means an offer of employment for a po19 sition related to work under a contract that is condi20 tioned upon the results of a criminal history inquiry. 

21 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMA22 TION.—The term ‘criminal history record informa23 tion’ has the meaning given that term in section 

24 9201 of title 5.’’. 


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1 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec2 tions for division C of subtitle I of title 41, United 

3 States Code, is amended by inserting after the item 

4 relating to section 4712 the following new item: 

‘‘4713. Prohibition on criminal history inquiries by contractors prior to conditional offer.’’. 

5 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 4713(a) of title 

6 41, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), 

7 shall apply with respect to contracts awarded pursu8 ant to solicitations issued after the effective date de9 scribed in section 2(b)(2) of this Act. 

10 (b) DEFENSE CONTRACTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 137 of title 10, 

12 United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 2338. Prohibition on criminal history inquiries by 

15 contractors prior to conditional offer 

16 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIR17 IES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graphs (2) and (3), the head of an agency— 

20 ‘‘(A) may not require that an individual or 

21 sole proprietor who submits a bid for a contract 

22 to disclose criminal history record information 

23 regarding that individual or sole proprietor be24 fore determining the apparent awardee; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall require as a condition of receiv2 ing a Federal contract and receiving payments 

3 under such contract that the contractor may 

4 not verbally or through written form request 

5 the disclosure of criminal history record infor6 mation regarding an applicant for a position re7 lated to work under such contract before such 

8 contractor extends a conditional offer to the ap9 plicant. 

10 ‘‘(2) OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY LAW.—The 

11 prohibition under paragraph (1) does not apply with 

12 respect to a contract if consideration of criminal his13 tory record information prior to a conditional offer 

14 with respect to the position is otherwise required by 

15 law. 

16 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS.— 

17 The prohibition under paragraph (1) does not apply 

18 with respect to a contract that requires an individual 

19 hired under the contract to access classified informa20 tion or to have sensitive law enforcement or national 

21 security duties. 

22 ‘‘(b) COMPLAINT PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of 

23 Defense shall establish and publish procedures under 

24 which an applicant for a position with a Department of 

25 Defense contractor may submit a complaint, or any other 


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1 information, relating to compliance by the contractor with 

2 subsection (a)(1)(B). 

3 ‘‘(c) ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF PROHIBITION ON

4 CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIRIES.— 

5 ‘‘(1) FIRST VIOLATION.—If the Secretary of 

6 Defense determines that a contractor has violated 

7 subsection (a)(1)(B), the Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) notify the contractor; 

9 ‘‘(B) provide 30 days after such notifica10 tion for the contractor to appeal the determina11 tion; and 

12 ‘‘(C) issue a written warning to the con13 tractor that includes a description of the viola14 tion and the additional penalties that may apply 

15 for subsequent violations. 

16 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT VIOLATIONS.—If the Sec17 retary of Defense determines that a contractor that 

18 was subject to paragraph (1) has committed a sub19 sequent violation of subsection (a)(1)(B), the Sec20 retary shall notify the contractor, shall provide 30 

21 days after such notification for the contractor to ap22 peal the determination, and, in consultation with the 

23 relevant Federal agencies, may take actions, depend24 ing on the severity of the infraction and the contrac25 tor’s history of violations, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) providing written guidance to the 

2 contractor that the contractor’s eligibility for 

3 contracts requires compliance with this section; 

4 ‘‘(B) requiring that the contractor respond 

5 within 30 days affirming that the contractor is 

6 taking steps to comply with this section; 

7 ‘‘(C) suspending payment under the con8 tract for which the applicant was being consid9 ered; 

10 ‘‘(D) terminating the contract under which 

11 the applicant was being considered; and 

12 ‘‘(E) referring the contractor to the sus13 pension and debarment office of the agency for 

14 consideration of actions pursuant to section 9.4 

15 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. 

16 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) CONDITIONAL OFFER.—The term ‘condi18 tional offer’ means an offer of employment for a po19 sition related to work under a contract that is condi20 tioned upon the results of a criminal history inquiry. 

21 ‘‘(2) CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD INFORMA22 TION.—The term ‘criminal history record informa23 tion’ has the meaning given that term in section 

24 9201 of title 5.’’. 


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1 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 2338(a) of title 

2 10, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), 

3 shall apply with respect to contracts awarded pursu4 ant to solicitations issued after the effective date de5 scribed in section 2(b)(2) of this Act. 

6 (3) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions for chapter 137 of title 10, United States 

8 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

9 to section 2337 the following new item: 

‘‘2338. Prohibition on criminal history inquiries by contractors prior to conditional offer.’’. 

10 (c) REVISIONS TO FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULA11 TION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal 

14 Acquisition Regulatory Council shall revise the Fed15 eral Acquisition Regulation to implement section 

16 4713 of title 41, United States Code, and section 

17 2338 of title 10, United States Code, as added by 

18 this section. 

19 (2) CONSISTENCY WITH OFFICE OF PERSONNEL

20 MANAGEMENT REGULATIONS.—The Federal Acquisi21 tion Regulatory Council shall revise the Federal Ac22 quisition Regulation under paragraph (1) to be con23 sistent with the regulations issued by the Director of 

24 the Office of Personnel Management under section 


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1 2(b)(1) to the maximum extent practicable. The 

2 Council shall include together with such revision an 

3 explanation of any substantive modification of the 

4 Office of Personnel Management regulations, includ5 ing an explanation of how such modification will 

6 more effectively implement the rights and protec7 tions under this section. 

8 SEC. 4. REPORT ON EMPLOYMENT OF INDIVIDUALS FOR9 MERLY INCARCERATED IN FEDERAL PRIS10 ONS. 

11 (a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered 

12 individual’’— 

13 (1) means an individual who has completed a 

14 term of imprisonment in a Federal prison for a Fed15 eral criminal offense; and 

16 (2) does not include an alien who is or will be 

17 removed from the United States for a violation of 

18 the immigration laws (as such term is defined in sec19 tion 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

20 U.S.C. 1101)). 

21 (b) STUDY AND REPORT REQUIRED.—The Director 

22 of the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in coordination with 

23 the Director of the Bureau of the Census, shall— 

24 (1) not later than 6 months after the date of 

25 enactment of this Act, design and initiate a study on 


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25 

•HR 1905 IH

1 the employment of covered individuals after their re2 lease from Federal prison, including by collecting— 

3 (A) demographic data on covered individ4 uals, including race, age, and sex; and 

5 (B) data on employment and earnings of 

6 covered individuals who have been denied em7 ployment, including the reasons for the denials; 

8 and 

9 (2) not later than 2 years after the date of en10 actment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, 

11 submit a report that does not include any personally 

12 identifiable information on the study conducted 

13 under paragraph (1) to— 

14 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 

15 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

16 (B) the Committee on Health, Education, 

17 Labor, and Pensions of the Senate; 

18 (C) the Committee on Oversight and Gov19 ernment Reform of the House of Representa20 tives; and 

21 (D) the Committee on Education and the 

22 Workforce of the House of Representatives. 

Æ 


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