JOB OPPORTUNITIES TASK FORCE

Advocating better skills, jobs, and incomes

Promoting Employment for Ex-Offenders

Through Criminal History Record Sealing

Prepared by the Job Opportunities Task Force

July 2004

The Problem: Possession of a criminal history record is one of the most significant barriers to employment ex-offenders face when they return to the community. Many employers routinely conduct criminal background checks on prospective employees, and frequently resist hiring persons with criminal history records. In Maryland certain non-conviction items may be removed from a person’s criminal history record after a certain period of time, convictions cannot be expunged, even if they are for minor, non-violent offenses. Additionally, once an individual has been convicted, she or he is unable to expunge the record of any non-conviction items that took place prior to the conviction.

Policy Solution: The state should allow persons with criminal history records to have convictions for minor, non-violent “nuisance” offenses sealed after a certain period of time. The state should also lift the ban on sealing of non-conviction items in the case of a subsequent conviction.

Background:

Approximately 15,000 people are released from Maryland state correctional institutions each year. It is essential that these ex-prisoners be able to access jobs in order to support themselves and their families.

A criminal record works against that likelihood. Many employers run criminal background checks when interviewing job applicants. Employers will often refuse to hire applicants who have a criminal record, even in there is no conviction, or if the conviction was for a minor offense, many years old, and the sentence satisfactorily served.

In Maryland, certain non-conviction items can be removed from a person’s criminal history record after a certain period of time through a process known as expungement. However, convictions of any kind cannot be expunged from an individual’s criminal history record, even in the case of minor, non-violent offenses. The appearance of such “nuisance crimes” on an individual’s criminal history record acts as such a significant barrier to employment that it is tantamount to the imposition of an additional sentence beyond what the court and society have imposed.

Additionally, current law prohibits the expungement of a non-conviction if the individual is subsequently convicted of any crime. This limited access to expungement means that individuals can develop a criminal record that includes charges for which they were not convicted.

Policy Solutions:

The state should allow individuals who have been convicted of minor, non-violent offenses to request expungement of nuisance crimes. The request for expungement would come three years after the conviction or satisfactory completion of the sentence, whichever is later. The state should also allow non-conviction items to be expunged even if the criminal history record reflects a subsequent conviction.

These remedies offer a balance between the need for appropriate authorities to access relevant criminal history record information, and the protection of individuals against prejudicial information that can hinder their abilities to succeed in the community. By removing these legal barriers, the state can increase ex-offenders’ likelihood of becoming employed and re-integrating successfully in society.