Following the passage three years ago of “Ban the Box” legislation that prohibited employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal record at the time of application, the General Assembly has nonetheless considered – and generally approved – broad background check requirements for a wide range of jobs and professions. It initially appeared that the 2016 General Assembly would follow the same pattern, dedicated to making it more difficult for ex-offenders to find gainful employment – often the most significant factor in whether a person will return to jail. However, in a win for the rights of ex-offenders, most of that legislation was left on the table or revised.
In January, the ACLU testified before the House Judiciary committee in opposition to legislation expanding the state’s background check process for massage therapists (H 7007), by giving municipalities the power to grant employers access to a person’s entire criminal record. Currently, the law states that employers can be made aware only of the existence of certain disqualifying offenses, ensuring that individuals are disqualified only for those offenses directly related to their job. This legislation would have undermined that law by excluding a person from work as a massage therapist for long-distant offenses that had no bearing on their fitness as a massage therapist. An amended version of the legislation - taking into account some of the ACLU's concerns (H 7007 A) - was passed into law in June.
The House also passed - but the Senate did not act on - legislation (H 7636 A) requiring every volunteer of every agency that serves children to receive a background check. The legislation included few specifics on who should receive a background check or what crimes could be considered disqualifying, and included no ability for volunteers to demonstrate how they have changed since their long-distant conviction. The ACLU testified before the House Health, Education and Welfare committee in opposition to this legislation in March.
Finally, the House took no action on a troubling Senate bill that would have given the Department of Children, Youth and Families the authority to demand information about the expunged criminal records of job applicants and volunteers.
