Written by Jackson Lewis PC – Danny W. Jarrett, Susan M. Corcoran and Richard I. Greenberg New Mexico is the latest state to adopt statewide legislation prohibiting private employers from making inquiries into an applicant’s criminal history on the initial employment application. The state also enacted legislation prohibiting employers from asking applicants for information about a […]
Utah lawmaker proposes ‘clean slate’ law to automatically wipe away nonviolent criminal records
Written by: Wendy Leonard SALT LAKE CITY — When a judge asked Catie Cartisano’s father what it was like to see his daughter in handcuffs, his reply was that it “was better than a funeral.” “I will never forget that,” said Cartisano, 33. That same judge ordered Cartisano to attend treatment for a third time, […]
South Carolina’s New Expungement Law Could Increase Applicant Pool
In an effort to increase the state’s potential workforce, the South Carolina General Assembly passed legislation last week that will expand the state’s current expungement law and allow individuals to more easily remove criminal convictions from their records. The hope is that prospective employees with low-level crimes on their records will no longer be discouraged from applying for jobs; this, then, should make it easier for employers to recruit qualified workers. What do South Carolina employers need to know about this new law? While South Carolina does not have a ban-the-box law, the state legislature has instead taken it one step further: the new law will make it easier for persons to erase certain convictions from their records. Current law permits persons to expunge a first-offense, low-level crime carrying a sentence of 30 days or less from their record following a period of good behavior. The new law removes the “first-offense” requirement and also allows persons to erase multiple convictions arising out of the same sentencing hearing if they are “closely connected.” Significantly, the law also allows offenders to expunge first-offense simple drug possession and possession of drugs with intent to distribute crimes. The law applies retroactively to those offenses committed prior to the law’s passage.
How SimpliVerified is Balancing the Background Check Process with Criminal Record Expungement
We believe in the good in people and want to give everyone the opportunity to right their wrongs, especially after they’ve paid their debt to society. It can be hard to get a good job and turn your life around when you have a criminal record, but there is hope. Criminal record expungement means the record is sealed or destroyed and no longer available to be accessed. An expunged crime will not show up on a background check and employers are not allowed to ask about it or use it against you in an employment decision. Typically, after we view a background check and generally determine expungement qualification, we will send a secure eligibility test email to the applicant. This form will help them, and the attorney determine if they qualify in the state the crime was committed.
