Rochester, NY ban-the-box law for employers (2026): Fair Employment Screening after the first interview

Rochester, New York's ban-the-box law is the Fair Employment Screening article of the city code, Chapter 63, Article II (sections 63-12 to 63-16), adopted by Ordinance No. 2014-155. It covers the City, its vendors and any employer with four or more employees for jobs whose primary place of work is in Rochester, including temporary, placement and referral agencies. They may not ask about criminal convictions on an initial application or before an initial interview (in person or by phone) or a conditional offer, may never ask about youthful offender, juvenile or sealed matters, and must tell an applicant who is not interviewed whether a background check will be run. As of November 2026 the article is unchanged, has no notice form or waiting period of its own, and is enforced by lawsuits filed within one year and Corporation Counsel penalties of $500 and then $1,000.

Where is Rochester's ban-the-box law?

City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2014-155 on May 20, 2014. The code's editor's note says the ordinance took effect 180 days after adoption, told the City to make its provisions known to the public and to vendors, and required the City's own criminal history checks under section 6B-2 of the City Charter to follow the article. The sections are:

• 63-12, the core rule: no inquiry about a prior conviction on any initial application, and consideration only "after an employment application is submitted and after any initial employment interview."
• 63-13, definitions of applicant, criminal conviction, employer, employment, interview and vendor.
• 63-14, the standards: timing, the no-interview notice, licensed trades, legal bars, Article 23-A and the FCRA, and records that may never be asked about.
• 63-15, the exceptions.
• 63-16, enforcement.

Who is covered?

• Employers with four or more employees. An employer is the City, its vendors, or "any entity that employs persons in any position for which the primary place of work is located within the City of Rochester," whether a person, partnership, company, corporation, LLC, labor organization, nonprofit or association. "Employer" does not include one "with fewer than four persons in its employ."
• Agencies, by name. The definition says employer "shall also include temporary, job placement, referral, or other employment agencies."
• City vendors, including those located outside the city limits.
• Rochester-based work. Employment is any work for pay, including temporary, seasonal, contracted and contingent work and work through an agency, for a position whose primary place of work is in Rochester. It excludes employment by a government law enforcement agency and police officer or peace officer positions.

The test is where the job is, not where the employer is: a Buffalo or out-of-state company hiring for a Rochester site is covered, while a Rochester company hiring someone whose primary place of work is a home in another town appears not to be. Section 63-14(A) separately speaks of employers "located within City limits," so ask counsel where the two wordings point in different directions.

When can a Rochester employer ask about convictions?

Section 63-14(A) bars any inquiry about, or required disclosure of, a criminal conviction "during the application process," which begins when the applicant inquires about the job "and shall end when an employer has conducted an initial employment interview or made a conditional offer of employment." An interview is "any direct contact by the employer with the applicant, whether in person or by telephone, to discuss the employment being sought or the applicant's qualifications." The article does not mention video interviews.

This is a step later than Buffalo, where consideration may begin during the first interview. A "criminal conviction" means a guilty plea or verdict for a misdemeanor or felony in New York or any other jurisdiction.

Which records may never be asked about?

Section 63-14(F), citing Executive Law 296(16) and the Family Court Act, bars asking applicants at any time to disclose an arrest that resulted in a youthful offender adjudication under Criminal Procedure Law 720.35, an arrest processed as a juvenile delinquency proceeding in Family Court, an arrest that resulted in sealing under CPL 160.50 or 160.55, or a conviction sealed under CPL 160.58, unless state or federal law specifically requires or permits the question. The state law it cites, Executive Law 296(16), reaches further, including adjournments in contemplation of dismissal and convictions sealed under CPL 160.59 or the automatic sealing provision, 160.57; see our New York ban-the-box page for the statewide rules, Article 23-A's factors and the copy of Article 23-A owed with a background report.

What are the exceptions?

• Licensed trades and professions (63-14(C)): the employer, including for interns and apprentices, may ask about prior convictions if a licensing authority or state or federal law requires the question.
• Legal bars (63-14(D)): where state or federal law makes certain convictions a bar to the job, the employer may ask about those convictions during the application process.
• Other laws (63-15(A)): the article does not apply where another law specifically authorizes the inquiry.
• Police and fire (63-15(B)): applicants to the City Police and Fire Departments, and any employer hiring police officers or peace officers as defined by Criminal Procedure Law 1.20 or 2.10.

Unlike Buffalo, Rochester has no general exemption for schools or care providers, so a home care agency hiring for a Rochester site follows the article and uses the legal-bar and other-law exceptions only for the specific checks a statute requires.

What Rochester does not require, and what Monroe County adds

The article sets no notice form, written analysis or response period before a decision. Section 63-14(E) instead requires compliance with Correction Law Article 23-A and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act when an employer considers a conviction, and confirms that a conditional offer may be withdrawn for any lawful reason, including a direct relationship to the job's duties or an unreasonable risk. If a screening company prepares the report, the FCRA steps apply: disclosure and authorization, a pre-adverse action notice with the report and summary of rights, and a final notice (FCRA background check process). The EEOC rescinded its 2012 arrest and conviction records guidance on October 28, 2026; Title VII still applies, and a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) fits the Article 23-A analysis the city code already requires.

Monroe County's Fair Chance Employment Act (County Code Chapter 49, Local Law No. 12-2023, adopted August 8, 2023) is often mentioned alongside the city law, but its purpose section limits it to applicants "for positions with Monroe County": it governs the County's own hiring, not private employers.

Staffing agencies and recruiters

Rochester names agencies in its definition of employer: temporary, placement and referral agencies are employers in their own right, so the agency's application, registration form and screen must follow the article whenever the job's primary place of work is in Rochester, as long as the agency has four or more employees.

• The recruiter screen: because the application process lasts until an initial interview, a recruiter must not ask before or during the first live conversation. Whether the agency's screen or the client's interview ends the process for the client is not settled in the text, so keep the topic out of agency screens and let the deciding party ask afterward.
• No interview: for temp assignments filled without an interview, the applicant must be told whether a background check will be run before work begins. Assign that in the client agreement.
• Records: never record youthful offender, juvenile or sealed matters in agency notes or submittals, and keep volunteered information out of what you send the client (what not to write in interview notes).
• Reports: whoever orders the background report sends the FCRA notices and the copy of Article 23-A.

Penalties and enforcement

• Private lawsuits (63-16(A)-(B)): any person aggrieved may sue for injunctive relief, damages or other relief; the court may award costs and reasonable attorney's fees. The action must be brought within one year of the violation.
• City enforcement (63-16(D)): the Corporation Counsel may sue to stop a violation and seek a $500 penalty for the first violation and $1,000 for each subsequent violation.
• Other remedies (63-16(C)): these remedies are separate from those under other laws and are not a prerequisite to them, so a state Human Rights Law or Article 23-A claim can proceed on its own.

The article names no city agency for complaints and no notice form.

How Rochester compares with Buffalo and New York City

Details: Buffalo's ban-the-box law and the New York City Fair Chance Act.

Template: job posting and application line for Rochester roles

An example to adapt for postings and applications where no exception applies:

"We do not ask about criminal convictions on this application. Any question about convictions comes only after an initial interview or a conditional offer, and we never ask about youthful offender, juvenile or sealed matters. If you are hired without an interview, we will tell you before your start date whether we will run a background check."

Rochester rules at a glance

A Rochester checklist for recruiting desks

1. Check where the job's primary place of work is and whether the employer or agency has four or more employees.
2. Remove conviction questions from initial applications, agency registration forms and screening questionnaires.
3. Keep the topic out of every conversation until the initial interview is over or a conditional offer is made.
4. Never ask about youthful offender, juvenile or sealed matters at any stage.
5. For hires without an interview, send the background check notice before the start date.
6. Run any decision through Article 23-A and the FCRA, and record the specific law behind any exception. For general scripts, see ban-the-box laws and interview questions.