labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Ex-convicts and others with criminal convictions are the subject of a new workplace poster in New York State.

 

The poster outlines what is known as Article 23 A of the New York Correction Law. The article, signed into law by New York’s Governor David Paterson, outlines the law as it applies to hiring of people with criminal records.

 

Under the law, New York employers are legally allowed to consider the conviction of a job-hunter as a negative issue when deciding on hiring, provided the crime the candidate was convicted for relates directly to the job or the license sought.

 

However, if the crime does not directly relate to the job, the employer cannot consider it during the hiring process. The new law makes it illegal discrimination to do so.

 

As an example, if an accountant had been convicted of embezzling from the bank in which he worked, another bank need not hire him. On the other hand, if this same accountant had been convicted, not of embezzlement, but of selling drugs, under the new law the employer is not permitted to consider that conviction when making a hiring decision.

 

Whenever an applicant with a criminal record is refused a job, the employer who chose not to hire that person must produce a written statement within 30 days describing reasons for denial if the applicant requests it.

 

The New York Conviction Law poster outlining this law, signed by the Governor on August 5, 2008, must be displayed in a prominent location starting February 1, 2009. Those employers who refuse to comply with the law face fines and even other types of penalties.

 

It is illegal in New York to discriminate in hiring a person if he or she has been convicted of a criminal act in the past.

 

An employer may legally fire someone who has lied about a past conviction. Supervisors may also refuse to hire applicants who have lied. If the applicant tells the truth about a conviction, an employer may not count that against him or her.

 

The law suggests that supervisors and employers take into account factors such as the age of the applicant when he or she was convicted, as well as the seriousness of the offense and the age at which the act was committed. Rehabilitation should also be considered.

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