Breaking
Biases
This story was origionally published in NNY Business. Amanda Calton is from Ogdensburg. In 2016, Amanda received her J.D. from Hofstra University and she is currently pending admission to the bar. Once admitted, Amanda will be practicing in the areas of domestic relations and criminal law. She is an alumnae of the Beta Beta Chapter at Clarkson University.
It can often be difficult for individuals with criminal convictions to find employment or housing, even years after serving their sentence. Even with protections in place, some employers and landlords can’t fight an unconscious bias towards these individuals. Local attorney Matthew Porter has begun using a new law passed in October of last year to protect his clients from such bias.
New York State does not have any laws in place to erase, or expunge, criminal records. Instead, New York offers a processes for sealing certain criminal records. For an individual experiencing additional hardship due to an old conviction, applying to have their records sealed may be an attractive option.
“When a person’s record is sealed it is not erased, but any related fingerprints, booking photos, and DNA samples may be returned to the individual or destroyed, and records of their crime will no longer be available to the public,” explained Mr. Porter.
Under New York’s Executive Law Section 296(16), employers are prohibited from inquiring about or taking any discriminatory
action based on an individual’s sealed record. This means that if a record is sealed it cannot be considered in an application for employment.
“However,” said Mr. Porter, “this law does not apply to law enforcement agencies, nor to those charged with federal licensing for firearms or other deadly weapons.”
The two processes for having criminal records sealed are outlined in New York’s Criminal Procedure Law Sections 160.58 and 160.59. Section 160.59, effective October 2017, has created a new opportunity for individuals who have not been convicted of a crime in the past ten years to apply to have their criminal convictions sealed.
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