JOB OPPORTUNITIES TASK FORCE

Advocating better skills, jobs, and incomes

TO: Hon. Joseph F. Vallario, Jr., Chair, and members of the House Judiciary Committee

FROM: Kevin Griffin Moreno, Senior Policy Advocate/Communications Director

DATE:             February 8, 2006

The Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF) is an independent, nonprofit organization that develops and advocates policies and programs to increase the skills, job opportunities, and incomes of low-skill, low-wage workers and job seekers in Maryland. We support HB 64 as a means of reducing barriers to employment among Baltimore City job seekers with arrest records.

Possession of a criminal history record is one of the most significant obstacles to mainstream employment that a job seeker can face. Employers are frequently reluctant to hire job applicants with criminal records, which list not only convictions, but nearly all non-conviction dispositions, including arrests. Arrests that do not result in charges or convictions become part of a person’s criminal history record. Persons denied employment because of their criminal histories often have no way of knowing whether arrest records were considered, and often are denied the opportunity to explain the circumstances of the arrest.

In Maryland, arrests and other non-conviction items may be expunged from a person’s criminal history record after a certain period of time. Convictions may never be expunged. In order expunge their records of arrests, applicants must wait three years, or else waive their right to sue the state.

In Baltimore City, approximately 1,600 arrests that never lead to criminal charges are made each month. Although individuals are released without ever having been charged, the arrest appears on a criminal history record, and remains there until it is expunged. Currently, individuals are required to file a separate application and pay a separate fee in order to expunge each arrest. This can be a confusing and expensive process for applicants, particularly as they must wait three years prior to filing for expungement.

HB 64 would make this process fairer by automatically expunging records of arrests that never led to charges. Arrests without charge should not be determining factors in an employer’s decision to hire job applicants. HB 64 would remove unfair obstacles to mainstream employment among job seekers. We respectfully urge a favorable report.