‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.—Ex-
cept as provided in subparagraph (B), an ad-
verse action taken under subparagraph (A) (in-
cluding a determination in an appeal from such 
an action under subparagraph (B)) shall not be 
subject to appeal or judicial review. 
‘‘(5) REGULATIONS TO BE ISSUED.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 18 
months after the date of enactment of the Fair 
Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019, the Di-
rector shall issue regulations to implement this 
subsection. 
‘‘(B) PARALLEL
WITH
AGENCY
REGULA-
TIONS.—The regulations issued under subpara-
graph (A) shall be the same as substantive regu-
lations promulgated by the Director of the Office 
of Personnel Management under section 2(b)(1) 
of the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 
2019 except to the extent that the Director of the 
Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts may determine, for good cause shown and 
stated together with the regulation, that a modi-
fication of such regulations would be more effec-
tive for the implementation of the rights and 
protections under this subsection. 
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‘‘(6) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraphs (1) through 
(4) shall take effect on the date on which section 9202 
of title 5 applies with respect to agencies.’’. 
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIRIES BY 
CONTRACTORS 
PRIOR 
TO 
CONDITIONAL 
OFFER. 
(a) CIVILIAN AGENCY CONTRACTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 41, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new section: 
‘‘§ 4714. Prohibition on criminal history inquiries by 
contractors prior to conditional offer 
‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIRIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graphs (2) and (3), an executive agency— 
‘‘(A) may not require that an individual or 
sole proprietor who submits a bid for a contract 
to disclose criminal history record information 
regarding that individual or sole proprietor be-
fore determining the apparent awardee; and 
‘‘(B) shall require, as a condition of receiv-
ing a Federal contract and receiving payments 
under such contract that the contractor may not 
verbally, or through written form, request the 
disclosure of criminal history record information 
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regarding an applicant for a position related to 
work under such contract before the contractor 
extends a conditional offer to the applicant. 
‘‘(2) OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY LAW.—The pro-
hibition under paragraph (1) does not apply with re-
spect to a contract if consideration of criminal his-
tory record information prior to a conditional offer 
with respect to the position is otherwise required by 
law. 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The prohibition under 
paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to— 
‘‘(i) a contract that requires an indi-
vidual hired under the contract to access 
classified information or to have sensitive 
law enforcement or national security duties; 
or 
‘‘(ii) a position that the Administrator 
of General Services identifies under the reg-
ulations issued under subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(i) ISSUANCE.—Not later than 16 
months after the date of enactment of the 
Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 
2019, the Administrator of General Serv-
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ices, in consultation with the Secretary of 
Defense, shall issue regulations identifying 
additional positions with respect to which 
the prohibition under paragraph (1) shall 
not apply, giving due consideration to posi-
tions that involve interaction with minors, 
access to sensitive information, or man-
aging financial transactions. 
‘‘(ii) COMPLIANCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS 
LAWS.—The regulations issued under clause 
(i) shall— 
‘‘(I) be consistent with, and in no 
way supersede, restrict, or limit the 
application of title VII of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et 
seq.) or other relevant Federal civil 
rights laws; and 
‘‘(II) ensure that all hiring activi-
ties conducted pursuant to the regula-
tions are conducted in a manner con-
sistent with relevant Federal civil 
rights laws. 
‘‘(b) COMPLAINT PROCEDURES.—The Administrator of 
General Services shall establish and publish procedures 
under which an applicant for a position with a Federal 
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contractor may submit to the Administrator a complaint, 
or any other information, relating to compliance by the 
contractor with subsection (a)(1)(B). 
‘‘(c) ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF PROHIBITION ON 
CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIRIES.— 
‘‘(1) FIRST VIOLATION.—If the head of an execu-
tive agency determines that a contractor has violated 
subsection (a)(1)(B), such head shall— 
‘‘(A) notify the contractor; 
‘‘(B) provide 30 days after such notification 
for the contractor to appeal the determination; 
and 
‘‘(C) issue a written warning to the con-
tractor that includes a description of the viola-
tion and the additional remedies that may apply 
for subsequent violations. 
‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION.—If the head of an 
executive agency determines that a contractor that 
was subject to paragraph (1) has committed a subse-
quent violation of subsection (a)(1)(B), such head 
shall notify the contractor, shall provide 30 days after 
such notification for the contractor to appeal the de-
termination, and, in consultation with the relevant 
Federal agencies, may take actions, depending on the 
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severity of the infraction and the contractor’s history 
of violations, including— 
‘‘(A) providing written guidance to the con-
tractor that the contractor’s eligibility for con-
tracts requires compliance with this section; 
‘‘(B) requiring that the contractor respond 
within 30 days affirming that the contractor is 
taking steps to comply with this section; and 
‘‘(C) suspending payment under the con-
tract for which the applicant was being consid-
ered until the contractor demonstrates compli-
ance with this section. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CONDITIONAL
OFFER.—The term ‘condi-
tional offer’ means an offer of employment for a posi-
tion related to work under a contract that is condi-
tioned upon the results of a criminal history inquiry. 
‘‘(2) CRIMINAL
HISTORY
RECORD
INFORMA-
TION.—The term ‘criminal history record informa-
tion’ has the meaning given that term in section 9201 
of title 5.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for chapter 47 of title 41, United States Code, 
is amended by adding at the end the following new 
item: 
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‘‘4714. Prohibition on criminal history inquiries by contractors prior to condi-
tional offer.’’. 
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 4714 of title 41, 
United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), shall 
apply with respect to contracts awarded pursuant to 
solicitations issued after the effective date described in 
section 2(b)(2) of this Act. 
(b) DEFENSE CONTRACTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 137 of title 10, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 2338 the following new section: 
‘‘§ 2339. Prohibition on criminal history inquiries by 
contractors prior to conditional offer 
‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIRIES.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graphs (2) and (3), the head of an agency— 
‘‘(A) may not require that an individual or 
sole proprietor who submits a bid for a contract 
to disclose criminal history record information 
regarding that individual or sole proprietor be-
fore determining the apparent awardee; and 
‘‘(B) shall require as a condition of receiv-
ing a Federal contract and receiving payments 
under such contract that the contractor may not 
verbally or through written form request the dis-
closure of criminal history record information 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
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regarding an applicant for a position related to 
work under such contract before such contractor 
extends a conditional offer to the applicant. 
‘‘(2) OTHERWISE REQUIRED BY LAW.—The pro-
hibition under paragraph (1) does not apply with re-
spect to a contract if consideration of criminal his-
tory record information prior to a conditional offer 
with respect to the position is otherwise required by 
law. 
‘‘(3) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The prohibition under 
paragraph (1) does not apply with respect to— 
‘‘(i) a contract that requires an indi-
vidual hired under the contract to access 
classified information or to have sensitive 
law enforcement or national security duties; 
or 
‘‘(ii) a position that the Secretary of 
Defense identifies under the regulations 
issued under subparagraph (B). 
‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.— 
‘‘(i) ISSUANCE.—Not later than 16 
months after the date of enactment of the 
Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 
2019, the Secretary of Defense, in consulta-
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tion with the Administrator of General 
Services, shall issue regulations identifying 
additional positions with respect to which 
the prohibition under paragraph (1) shall 
not apply, giving due consideration to posi-
tions that involve interaction with minors, 
access to sensitive information, or man-
aging financial transactions. 
‘‘(ii) COMPLIANCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS 
LAWS.—The regulations issued under clause 
(i) shall— 
‘‘(I) be consistent with, and in no 
way supersede, restrict, or limit the 
application of title VII of the Civil 
Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000e et 
seq.) or other relevant Federal civil 
rights laws; and 
‘‘(II) ensure that all hiring activi-
ties conducted pursuant to the regula-
tions are conducted in a manner con-
sistent with relevant Federal civil 
rights laws. 
‘‘(b) COMPLAINT PROCEDURES.—The Secretary of De-
fense shall establish and publish procedures under which an 
applicant for a position with a Department of Defense con-
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tractor may submit a complaint, or any other information, 
relating to compliance by the contractor with subsection 
(a)(1)(B). 
‘‘(c) ACTION FOR VIOLATIONS OF PROHIBITION ON 
CRIMINAL HISTORY INQUIRIES.— 
‘‘(1) FIRST VIOLATION.—If the Secretary of De-
fense determines that a contractor has violated sub-
section (a)(1)(B), the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) notify the contractor; 
‘‘(B) provide 30 days after such notification 
for the contractor to appeal the determination; 
and 
‘‘(C) issue a written warning to the con-
tractor that includes a description of the viola-
tion and the additional remedies that may apply 
for subsequent violations. 
‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT VIOLATIONS.—If the Secretary 
of Defense determines that a contractor that was sub-
ject to paragraph (1) has committed a subsequent vio-
lation of subsection (a)(1)(B), the Secretary shall no-
tify the contractor, shall provide 30 days after such 
notification for the contractor to appeal the deter-
mination, and, in consultation with the relevant Fed-
eral agencies, may take actions, depending on the se-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
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verity of the infraction and the contractor’s history of 
violations, including— 
‘‘(A) providing written guidance to the con-
tractor that the contractor’s eligibility for con-
tracts requires compliance with this section; 
‘‘(B) requiring that the contractor respond 
within 30 days affirming that the contractor is 
taking steps to comply with this section; and 
‘‘(C) suspending payment under the con-
tract for which the applicant was being consid-
ered until the contractor demonstrates compli-
ance with this section. 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) CONDITIONAL
OFFER.—The term ‘condi-
tional offer’ means an offer of employment for a posi-
tion related to work under a contract that is condi-
tioned upon the results of a criminal history inquiry. 
‘‘(2) CRIMINAL
HISTORY
RECORD
INFORMA-
TION.—The term ‘criminal history record informa-
tion’ has the meaning given that term in section 9201 
of title 5.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 2339(a) of title 
10, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), 
shall apply with respect to contracts awarded pursu-
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