The city is moving to ban private employers from asking job seekers if they've ever been convicted of a crime.
The City Council on Wednesday passed the Fair Chance Act, which is also known as "Ban the Box."
The nickname comes from the box on some job application forms that needs to be checked if a prospective employee has a conviction.
Supporters of the bill -- including Mayor Bill de Blasio -- say it will end discrimination against people who have low-level arrests, especially blacks and Latinos.
"For those who have paid their debt to society, we want them to be rehabilitated, we want them to reintegrate in society, they have to have economic opportunity. This legislation seeks to actually open the door to jobs for people rather than damning them to no economic future," De Blasio said.
A business group called the Partnership for New York is blasting the bill, calling it impractical.