New York Governor Signs Clean Slate Law to Seal Older Criminal Convictions
Nov 28th, 2023 by Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & stewart @ www.jdspura.com
On November 16, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill into law requiring records of certain past criminal convictions to be sealed. The legislation is intended in part to prevent discrimination in hiring against previously incarcerated individuals who have satisfied their sentences.
Quick Hits
- The Clean Slate Act calls for eligible misdemeanor convictions to be sealed after three years from an individual’s satisfaction of a sentence and eligible felony convictions to be sealed after eight years from an individual’s satisfaction of a sentence.
- The New York State Human Rights Law has been amended to prohibit discrimination based on a sealed conviction, subject to limited exceptions.
- The law will likely have an impact on employer background checks and hiring practices.