There have been a myriad of questions that have arise since Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick signed into law new reforms to the Commonwealth’s Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) law that will have a significant impact on the state’s employers who conduct criminal background checks. To sort through the mess, we enlisted the help of Seyfarth Shaw labor and employment attorney, Pam Devata. Clearly, these reforms represent an effort to help those with criminal records find employment, but will this come at the expense of employers ability to make an informed hiring decision?
Check out our podcast below.
Listed below are some of the most critical changes that will take effect February 6, 2012:
- Employers can no longer ask if an individual has been convicted of a crime on the initial job application (please note that this requirement is set to take effect November 4, 2010)
- Felony convictions older than or prison sentences completed more than 10 years ago will be removed from the system as will misdemeanors older the 5 years
- An employers can only take adverse action after they have presented the candidate with the CORI report
- Any employer that conducts five or more background checks on an annual basis must have a written criminal offender record policy
- Employers must dispose of an individual’s CORI report not more than 7 years after their last date of employment
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...