A growing aspect of the criminal justice reform are Clean Slate Laws, which seek to help individuals with a criminal record get a fresh start in the workplace. It’s essential to know how these laws impact hiring processes and criminal background checks for employers looking to hire employees in a growing number of states.
What Are Clean Slate Laws?
Clean slate laws refer to legislative policies that allow for the expungement or sealing of criminal records from public systems. The primary goal is to eliminate barriers to employment or housing for individuals with criminal histories, thereby aiding their reenter and rehabilitation.
How Are Clean Slate Laws Different From Other Employment Criminal Justice Reform?
Clean slate laws laws build on “ban the box” and “fair chance” laws, among other legislation and best practices.
Ban the box laws generally prohibit employers from requesting criminal background checks on potential employees until a job offer is made. Fair chance laws generally prohibit employers from asking about any criminal history, such as on an application or during an interview.
Clean slate laws expand eligibility for individuals to have their criminal records expunged or sealed. To meet the criteria of The Clean Slate Initiative, states must have multi-faceted legislation that includes:
- Automated record clearance
- Automatic clearance once eligible
- Include arrest records in clearance
- Include misdemeanor records in clearance
- Include at least one felony record (recommended only)
These are also called “record sealing laws” in some states, where that’s the method a state uses.
Whether these laws include only state records, and exactly what records (e.g. felonies) are included vary by state. The goal isn’t to give hardened criminals access to any job, but rather to make it easier for those showing they’ve reformed to reenter the workforce. The fewer the crimes, or simply arrests, the easier it is to meet eligibility.
What States Currently Have Clean Slate Laws?
Clean slate laws have been expanding from 2018 to 2023. As of December 2023, 12 states had clean slate laws meeting The Clean Slate Initiative’s requirements:
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- New Jersey
- New York
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Utah
- Virginia
How Do Clean Slate Laws Affect Employers?
The impact of clean slate laws on the hiring process is evolving, and uncertain in many cases. The legislation remains varied; many states’ laws are less than a few years old. There will undoubtedly be matters settled by overseeing authorities and courts.
While these specific laws generally limit what employers can ask, they focus more on expunging and sealing records. Most clean slate states already have ban-the-box laws, and clean slate laws normally include provisions prohibiting asking whether an applicant has pursued criminal record expungement.
What’s allowed when researching criminal backgrounds may also vary by state. Employers may be altogether prohibited from running criminal background checks, or these could be limited to a certain time in the hiring process. Some professions may be exempt in certain situations.
Even when a criminal background check is run, what information is gleaned can vary:
- State records are generally either expunged or concealed from employers
- Federal records may or may not be available
- Google news searches and other online research may or may not be allowed
- Employers are often not allowed to discriminate based on prior criminal history
How Can Employers Stay Current on Legislation?
To avoid potential legal issues, it’s essential that employers remain up to date on current clean slate legislation and rulings. This is beyond what many employers are equipped to do, especially if hiring in multiple states with different laws.
Employers can refer their background checks to a specialized service to stay current. Employment consultants offering criminal background checks will be aware of current legislation and how best to navigate individual states’ laws during the hiring process. The service will abide by all current laws.
To speak with an employment consultant about criminal background checks in specific states, contact us at The Orsus Group. Our team specializes in criminal background checks, and knows how to comply with clean state laws.