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Interviewing on a Clean Slate: Employers’ Obligations Under Pennsylvania’s Newly Enacted Clean Slate Law

8/26/19

By: Sean Riley

Pennsylvania recently became the first state in the country to enact clean slate legislation, which provides for the automatic sealing of non-violent misdemeanor criminal records for those who qualify after a set period of time. The law is expected to seal approximately 30 million cases by June 2020 which corresponds to roughly half of the courts’ entire database. The Clean Slate Law prohibits employers from requesting an individual’s criminal history records that have been expunged or sealed pursuant to the new law and expressly authorizes an applicant to respond to an inquiry as if the offense did not occur. However, the law also provides immunity from liability for employers who hire an individual with an expunged or sealed criminal record in a civil action based upon damages suffered as a result of the employee’s criminal or unlawful actions and the individual’s suitability for employment. Accordingly, employers utilizing form applications requesting the disclosure of an applicant’s criminal history should now include a disclaimer on their applications that the candidate should not provide information about criminal conviction that has been expunged or sealed pursuant to law. While Pennsylvania is the first state to enact clean slate legislation, similar measures are catching on in other states such as Michigan and Colorado and similar legislation aiming to automatically clear certain federal records was introduced in Congress last year.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Sean Riley at sriley@fmglaw.com.