Connecticut’s new “Clean Slate” law took effect on New Year’s Day and requires the state automatically erase records of certain felonies and misdemeanors and expand the protections granted to job seekers with criminal records.
For misdemeanor offenses, the law mandates the automatic erasure of convictions seven years after the court entered the judgment. Class E and D felonies will also be erased from public records 10 years after the court entered the date of conviction. In Connecticut Class E Felonies carry penalties of up to three years in prison and a fine of up to $3,500 and class D felonies are for up to five years in prison and a fine up to $5,000.
Class D felonies include offenses such as misconduct with a motor vehicle, several non-lethal firearms offenses, unlawful possession or sale of gravestones, computer crime to the third degree, criminal mischief, theft of cable television and a wide range of other offenses. Some types of assault and other violent crimes fall in this category. Class E felonies include the use of ransomware to extort money and a number of less serious versions of Class D felonies.
However, convictions registered by courts on or after Jan. 1, 2020, will be automatically deleted from public records. If an offender was a minor and convicted between Jan 1., 2000 and July 1, 2012, their record will also have eligible crimes erased. Crimes committed by somebody over the age of 18 before 2020 can also be expunged, but only after a petition process which the state has yet to implement.
“The aim of the law is to allow greater work opportunities for individuals who have committed offenses in the past and are trying to either reenter the workforce or find a new job,” said Justin Theriault, a principal at the Hartford office of the law firm Jackson Lewis.
According to Theriault, this law represents an expansion of existing Connecticut laws and could have important implications for both those seeking to reintegrate into society and employers seeking new hires.
“What this will mean practically is that under Connecticut law for the purpose of background checks and the individual’s ability to disclose their criminal history it’s as though erased offenses never have occurred,” Theriault said. “Individuals are also allowed to swear under oath that they have not been convicted of any crime that has been erased by virtue of this law.”
Susan Corcoran, a principal at Jackson Lewis based in the firm’s White Plains office and co-leader of the firm’s background check group, noted that while the law expands the number of convictions that can be erased, there is already a law in place that employers should be aware of.
Actions taken due to “the stigma of someone having a conviction or making decisions based on whether someone has a conviction potentially falls under (Clean Slate) law,” Corcoran said. “So, someone has a potential claim under that law if they are treated differently because they had an erased conviction under Connecticut law.”
Corcoran added that employers outside of Connecticut will typically not be able to see erased or expunged records of Connecticut residents that come from the background checks available through consumer reporting agencies.
Several states have laws similar to the Connecticut Clean Slate Law; Corcoran stressed the importance of Corrections Law Article 23-A for employers in New York.
“Our states both have similar type of protections now,” Corcoran said. “It’s a similar approach towards making sure that employers are careful about the decisions they make with respect to an individual who may have a conviction before denying someone employment. We’ve been advising on this for years, but one of the things we remind employers of particularly now is that there’s other parts of the screening process that you should take a step back and look at ”” are you asking the right questions? Are they narrowly tailored? The intent of the laws is to have you focus on the qualifications of the individual and not their conviction status.”
“The takeaway when laws like this go into effect is to take a step back, look at your process, and just evaluate it afresh every now and then,” added Theriault. “The implementation of these laws is always an excellent time to do that.”
