Bipartisan legislation would amend Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to open up job opportunities in the banking sector to rehabilitated candidates with minor offenses
Washington, D.C. – What’s happening: The House today passed a bill, the Fair Hiring in Banking Act, sponsored by Reps. Joyce Beatty (D-OH), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) and Pete Sessions (R-TX), that would enable banks to provide more job opportunities to rehabilitated individuals with criminal records.
What BPI is saying: “This legislation offers a second chance to rehabilitated job candidates whose skills are untapped. It streamlines the hiring process under federal law so that our nation’s banks can offer employment opportunities to people with a diverse range of backgrounds. We urge the Senate to take up and pass this bill.” – President and CEO Greg Baer
Context: The bill would update Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, a key banking law, to appropriately expand the process for “automatic” waivers from the statute’s limits on hiring candidates with prior offenses. The FDIC’s 2020 rulemaking rightly expanded eligibility for that process, but the legislation broadens opportunities further by amending the underlying statute. The bill does not compel banks to hire candidates with criminal records, but it allows them flexibility to hire rehabilitated job seekers where appropriate. BPI led a joint trades letter in support of the legislation.
Why it matters: The legislation allows more rehabilitated job seekers to access high-quality, stable jobs in the banking industry that will enable their economic advancement. Second-chance hiring is a pathway to upward mobility for Americans with records and to an expanded, skilled workforce for America’s financial institutions.
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About Bank Policy Institute
The Bank Policy Institute (BPI) is a nonpartisan public policy, research and advocacy group, representing the nation’s leading banks and their customers. Our members include universal banks, regional banks and the major foreign banks doing business in the United States. Collectively, they employ almost 2 million Americans, make nearly half of the nation’s small business loans, and are an engine for financial innovation and economic growth.
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