You can go to the Legal Aid Society’s website for more information here. With the overwhelming support of New Yorkers across the state, now is the time for New York’s Legislature to pass the Clean Slate Act, said advocate Marvin Mayfield, lead statewide. “I believe in it and I’m supporting it,” he said. Goodman’s unit at the Legal Aid Society, he’s optimistic about the road ahead. “We have people come in and we help them get a copy of their rap sheet,” Goodman said.Īnthony did just that and, with the help of Ms. Her advice? If you have a criminal record – for anything – find out exactly what’s on it. Goodman estimates about one and a half percent of those eligible have gone through the extremely confusing application process. There are so many different things that having a criminal record prevents you from doing – no matter what the crime is.” They can’t get private housing because private housing companies can do background checks and deny people,” Goodman said. He’s not the only one. Emma Goodman of the New York Legal Aid Society believes there are at least 600,000 people eligible to have their convictions sealed. “I was running around doing crazy things and you get caught up, know what I mean? But I turned my whole life around. “I was a kid,” he said about the misdemeanors from his past. “[I} wet through five interviews and, right before orientation, I was told because of my record that I can’t have a job anymore.”Īnthony, who’s worked the same job now for 17 years, wants a clean slate. “I applied for one of the biggest hospitals in New York. Anthony was charged with a DUI in 1997 and petty larceny in 2007. It would change so much for Anthony, whose real name PIX11 is concealing as he searches for a new job. There’s new hope for him thanks to a little known New York State law, passed last fall, which allows people with up to two misdemeanor convictions, or one non-violent felony conviction that’s at least 10 years old to have those convictions sealed.
Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.Ī 42-year-old dad has applied again and again for new jobs, determined to find better paying employment, but misdemeanors from his past have haunted him and thwarted his chances. Anyone using this information does so at his or her own risk.This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Although care has been taken in preparation of these materials, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information contained within it. Persons in need of legal assistance should seek the advice of competent legal counsel. Its contents are designed solely for informational purposes, and should not be inferred or understood as legal advice or binding case law, nor shared with any third parties. This document and/or presentation is provided as a service to our customers.
Employers in Pennsylvania should be aware of the effect the Clean Slate Act will have on background checks.įor more information on the Act, please see our white paper available here.Īll Rights Reserved © 2019 Certiphi Screening, Inc. The Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Courts of Common Pleas will have until Jto identify and seal the eligible records. If an individual has a conviction, conspiracy, attempt, or solicitation of an offense related to danger to a person, family, firearm, cruelty to animal, corruption of a minor, or a sex offense, the criminal record will not be eligible to be sealed.įor now, records that have been sealed under the Clean Slate Law will continue to appear on FBI background checks. The law includes exceptions to the sealing of records.
Misdemeanors that are punishable by two years or less in prison are also eligible if for 10 years after the conviction, there are no subsequent convictions that are punishable by imprisonment for more than a year. The measure is known as a 'clean slate' bill that is meant to lessen the impact of criminal convictions on a person once their sentence is completed.
Democratic lawmakers in New York this week are unveiling a push for the passage of a measure that would expunge or seal some criminal convictions. Eligible criminal records include non-violent second and third degree misdemeanors, charges that did not result in a conviction and summary convictions after 10 years. Lawmakers, advocates to call for 'clean slate' bill. The Clean Slate Act automatically seals eligible criminal records without an individual having to file a court petition. 2 The State of Pennsylvania estimates that 30 million records will be sealed by the Clean Slate Act's automatic process by 2020. The Clean Slate Act is part of the Clean Slate Law that was signed last year and includes two parts - Act 5, which went into effect in December, and The Clean Slate Act, which went into effect on June 28, 2019.