Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Law Amends Ban-the-Box Policy

Governor Charlie Baker signed the Massachusetts Criminal Justice Reform Law on April 13, which . The new restrictions .

The new law adjusts the timeframes related to when an employer may seek information on a conviction. In the new law, The new law also or “anything related to a criminal record that has been sealed or expunged.”

In addition, if an employer uses an application for the purpose of seeking “information concerning prior arrests or convictions of the applicant,” : “An applicant for employment with a record expunged pursuant to section 100F, section 100G, section 100H or Section 100K of chapter 276 of the General Laws may answer ‘no record’ with respect to an inquiry herein relative to prior arrests, criminal court appearances, or convictions. An applicant for employment with a record expunged pursuant to section 100F, section 100G, section 100H, or section 100K of chapter 276 of the General Laws may answer ‘no record’ to an inquiry herein relative to prior arrests, criminal court appearances, juvenile court appearances, adjudications, or convictions.”

Finally, stating that “an employer or landlord shall be presumed to have no notice or ability to know of a record that: (i) has been sealed or expunged; (ii) the employer is prohibited from inquiring about pursuant to subsection 9 of section 4 of chapter 151B; or (iii) concerns crimes that the department of criminal justice information services cannot lawfully disclose to an employer or landlord.”

What This Means to You

This applies to
Starting October 13, 2018, .
Employers cannot ask applicants about a criminal record that has been .
in all applications that are seeking criminal background information of the applicant.

Senate Bill 2371 is available here: http://d279m997dpfwgl.cloudfront.net/wp/2018/03/03-23CrimJusticeConfReport.pdf

What This Means to You

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