Here is a link to an interesting Associated Press article discussing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's position that an employer's blanket refusal to hire workers based solely on criminal records or negative credit reports may be illegal if it has a disparate impact on racial minorities. This reality does not prevent employers from using or considering criminal records, but it does require them to consider the nature of the job, the type of conviction, the seriousness of the offense, and how long ago it occurred. As an example, the article suggests it may be appropriate to disqualify an applicant (of any race or ethnicity) for a bank job if she has been convicted of embezzlement, but not if she was convicted of DUI.
Massachusetts law specifically prohibits employers from considering most misdemeanor convictions in the hiring or firing of an employee.
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Update re criminal records on job applications
Starting in November of 2010, the new Massachusetts Criminal Records Reform Act overhauls the current Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) law. Among other things, the Act prohibits employers from asking any questions on initial job applications about the applicant's criminal record. So, for example, employers may not ask: "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?"
Employers can still obtain criminal histories of job applicants from the CORI database, but those records will no longer contain certain information, including: (1) Felony convictions that were closed for more than ten years (regardless of whether the convictions occurred more than ten years ago or the applicants were released more than ten years ago), (2) Misdemeanor convictions closed for more than five years.
The Act also places some fairly strict burdens on employers by, for example, requiring Employers that decide not to hire an applicant based on criminal history in a CORI report to give the applicant a copy of the report. Also, if an employer conducts five or more criminal background checks per year, it must create and maintain a written criminal offender record information policy. Clearly, the Act will require Massachusetts employers to review their hiring policies with a qualified MA employment law attorney. For more information, you can review the Act.