Expungement means the arrest, court case, and conviction are now treated like they never happened. None of these will appear on a criminal background history check and it cannot be used against an individual when applying for work.

NEW YORK - Marijuana Possession Law Changes

Under current New York State law, some marijuana possession charges are automatically expunged, and the list of eligible charges has grown. Convictions for possessing up to 16 ounces and selling up to 25 grams of marijuana are now eligible for expungement. If an individual does have a charge expunged, they will not be contacted by the court. The court will contact the Division of Criminal Justice, police, District Attorneys, and other law enforcement agencies needed.

Charges that have been expunged will not appear on a criminal history background check, and do not have to be listed on a job or school application. An expunged charge cannot be used against an individual when applying for housing, employment, student loans, or anything else. Some automatically expunged charges include Unlawful Possession in the First and Second Degree, Criminal Possession in the Third and Fourth Degree, Unlawful Possession and Sale, and Personal Cultivation and Home Possession.

CALIFORNIA - Delays in Expunging Past Marijuana Charges

Californian voters elected to legalize cannabis use for recreational uses in 2016. However, there are currently around 30,000 people waiting to have their claims fully processed. Courts have emerged as the primary bottleneck in the process.

Court officials blamed a combination of factors for the delays, including COVID-19, staffing shortages, outdated case management systems, old records that require manual review, and technical issues. In an effort to get away from filing individual court petitions, an additional bill in 2018 was meant to clear past cannabis convictions en masse, but few opted in. Despite the delays, 117,000 Californians have now received legal relief for their marijuana convictions.

MICHIGAN - Redacting an Applicant’s Date of Birth

The Michigan Supreme Court approved several amendments that will redact an applicant’s date of birth (DOB) in court records. Clerks will no longer be allowed to verify a DOB verbally on a court record or limit a search of their records using DOB. The amendments went into effect on January 1st, 2022.

Access to a full DOB is often a minimum requirement needed to confirm a record is a match to a job candidate. By eliminating the ability to verify with DOB, the Supreme Court puts employers at risk of potentially doing a background check on someone that is not their applicant.

These laws do not come without opposition. The Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) continues its efforts to stop these rules from going into effect. The PBSA has reached out to multiple state Supreme Courts about the effect this amendment would have on both pre-employment and tenant screening.