Massachusetts Passes CORI Reform

 

CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) reform passed the state legislature this summer. The measure had been pushed by Gov. Patrick and others to help remove barriers to former criminal offenders finding jobs. CORI reform seals criminal records sooner than under previous law, bar employers from asking potential employees about their criminal records as part of an initial job application (but they can still pose the question during job interviews) and automatically removes non-convictions from the CORI report. 

Massachusetts will be the first state in the country to remove the criminal record question from initial job applications for all employers (both private and public).

The “ban the box” from applications provisions are expected to go into effect as early as November 2010. Starting in January 2012 (18 months from enactment), felony convictions would be sealed after 10 years, instead of the current 15-year stipulation. Misdemeanor convictions would be sealed after five years, instead of the current 10. Employers would not have access to the sealed records.

-From “Massachusetts legislature passes CORI reform, sales tax holiday” Associated Press, Masslive.com Published: August 01, 2010, http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/08/massachusetts_legislature_pass.html, retrieved 8/4/10 and “CORI Reform Update” e-mail f rom Aaron Tanaka , Boston Workers Alliance, August 4, 2010 forwarded by Kelly Turley, Mass Coalition for the Homeless, to HousingBenefits Google group, 8/5/10.

 

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