I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5911 
To amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Federal Credit Union 
Act to expand employment opportunities for those with a previous minor 
criminal offense, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 9, 2021 
Mrs. BEATTY (for herself and Mr. AUCHINCLOSS) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the Fed-
eral Credit Union Act to expand employment opportuni-
ties for those with a previous minor criminal offense, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Hiring in Bank-
ing Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE ACT. 
Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 
U.S.C. 1829) is amended— 
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‘‘(A) there is an order of expungement, 
sealing, or dismissal that has been issued in re-
gard to the conviction in connection with such 
offense; and 
‘‘(B) it is intended by the language in the 
order itself, or in the legislative provisions 
under which the order was issued, that the con-
viction shall be destroyed or sealed from the in-
dividual’s State or Federal record, even if ex-
ceptions allow the record to be considered for 
certain character and fitness evaluation pur-
poses. 
‘‘(3) DE MINIMIS EXEMPTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall 
not apply to such de minimis offenses as the 
Corporation determines, by rule. 
‘‘(B) CONFINEMENT CRITERIA.—In issuing 
rules under subparagraph (A), the Corporation 
shall include a requirement that the offense was 
punishable by a term of three years or less con-
fined in a correctional facility, where such con-
finement— 
‘‘(i) is calculated based on the time an 
individual spent incarcerated as a punish-
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ment or a sanction, not as pretrial deten-
tion; and 
‘‘(ii) does not include probation or pa-
role where an individual was restricted to 
a particular jurisdiction or was required to 
report occasionally to an individual or a 
specific location. 
‘‘(C) BAD
CHECK
CRITERIA.—In setting 
the criteria for de minimis offenses under sub-
paragraph (A), if the Corporation establishes 
criteria with respect to insufficient funds 
checks, the Corporation shall require that the 
aggregate total face value of all insufficient 
funds checks across all convictions or program 
entries related to insufficient funds checks is 
$2,000 or less. 
‘‘(D) DESIGNATED
LESSER
OFFENSES.— 
Subsection (a) shall not apply to certain lesser 
offenses (including the use of a fake ID, shop-
lifting, trespass, fare evasion, driving with an 
expired license or tag, and such other low-risk 
offenses as the Corporation may designate) if 1 
year or more has passed since the applicable 
conviction or program entry.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(f) CONSENT APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall ac-
cept consent applications from an individual and 
from an insured depository institution or depository 
institution holding company on behalf of an indi-
vidual that are filed separately or contemporaneously 
with a regional office of the Corporation. 
‘‘(2) SPONSORED
APPLICATIONS
FILED
WITH 
REGIONAL OFFICES.—Consent applications filed at a 
regional office of the Corporation by an insured de-
pository institution or depository institution holding 
company on behalf of an individual— 
‘‘(A) shall be reviewed by such office; 
‘‘(B) may be approved or denied by such 
office, if such authority has been delegated to 
such office by the Corporation; and 
‘‘(C) may only be denied by such office if 
the general counsel of the Corporation (or a 
designee) certifies that the denial is consistent 
with this section. 
‘‘(3) INDIVIDUAL
APPLICATIONS
FILED
WITH 
REGIONAL OFFICES.—Consent applications filed at a 
regional office by an individual— 
‘‘(A) shall be reviewed by such office; and 
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‘‘(B) may be approved or denied by such 
office, if such authority has been delegated to 
such office by the Corporation, except with re-
spect to— 
‘‘(i) cases involving an offense de-
scribed under subsection (a)(2); and 
‘‘(ii) such other high-level security 
cases as may be designated by the Cor-
poration. 
‘‘(4) NATIONAL OFFICE REVIEW.—The national 
office of the Corporation shall— 
‘‘(A) review any consent application with 
respect to which a regional office is not author-
ized to approve or deny the application; and 
‘‘(B) review any consent application that is 
denied by a regional office, if the individual re-
quests a review by the national office. 
‘‘(5) FORMS AND INSTRUCTIONS.— 
‘‘(A) 
AVAILABILITY.—The 
Corporation 
shall make all forms and instructions related to 
consent applications available to the public, in-
cluding on the website of the Corporation. 
‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The forms and instruc-
tions described under subparagraph (A) shall 
provide a sample cover letter and a comprehen-
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sive list of items that may accompany the appli-
cation, including clear guidance on evidence 
that may support a finding of rehabilitation. 
‘‘(6) CONSIDERATION OF CRIMINAL HISTORY.— 
‘‘(A) 
REGIONAL
OFFICE
CONSIDER-
ATION.—In reviewing a consent application, a 
regional office shall— 
‘‘(i) primarily rely on the criminal his-
tory record of the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation; and 
‘‘(ii) provide such record to the appli-
cant to review for accuracy. 
‘‘(B) CERTIFIED
COPIES.—The Corpora-
tion may not require an applicant to provide 
certified copies of criminal history records un-
less the Corporation determines that there is a 
clear and compelling justification to require ad-
ditional information to verify the accuracy of 
the criminal history record of the Federal Bu-
reau of Investigation. 
‘‘(7) CONSIDERATION
OF
REHABILITATION.— 
Consistent with title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 
1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et seq.), the Corporation 
shall— 
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‘‘(A) conduct an individualized assessment 
when evaluating consent applications that takes 
into account evidence of rehabilitation, the ap-
plicant’s age at the time of the conviction or 
program entry, the time that has elapsed since 
conviction or program entry, and the relation-
ship of individual’s offense to the responsibil-
ities of the applicable position; 
‘‘(B) presume that the individual is reha-
bilitated if four years have passed since the in-
dividual’s offense and the individual has no sub-
sequent convictions; and 
‘‘(C) consider the individual’s employment 
history, letters of recommendation, certificates 
documenting participation in substance abuse 
programs, successful participating in job prepa-
ration and educational programs, and other rel-
evant mitigating evidence. 
‘‘(8) SCOPE OF EMPLOYMENT.—With respect to 
an approved consent application filed by an insured 
depository institution or depository institution hold-
ing company on behalf of an individual, if the Cor-
poration determines it appropriate, such approved 
consent application shall allow the individual to work 
for the same employer (without restrictions on the 
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