The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has updated its 25-year-old guidlines on how employers can use criminal history to make employment decisions.

The EEOC has made the update to improve the rights of those with criminal records looking for employment. One in four American adults, disproportionately low-income and minority, now has a criminal record. As a result of increased use of background checks by employers during the hiring process, many of these individuals are being barred from obtaining work – even when their convictions are decades-old and have no relation to their chosen field. A recent report indicated that many employers ban hiring anyone with a criminal record, even though this is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Click here for more information about the new guidlines.

Click here to read the complete EEOC Enforcement Guidelines.