As previously reported, the City of Waterloo is ground zero in the fight for Ban the Box. After the Waterloo City Council passed the City’s vital Ban the Box law, business leaders launched an unprecedented and vicious legal assault on the law passed to protect thousands of Iowa’s most vulnerable citizens. The lawsuit, filed by the Iowa Association of Business and Industry, seeks an injunction to block Waterloo Ban the Box enforcement. That lawsuit is pending in Black Hawk County District Court.
Meanwhile, the Waterloo City Council will consider an amendment to the Waterloo Ban the Box law, which prohibits employers from inquiring about applicant conviction history on initial employment applications. Currently, Waterloo’s Ban the Box law applies to any employer with one or more employees. Introduced by Councilmember Pat Morrissey, the proposed amendment would increase that number to four or more employees.
The amendment is expected to pass.
