April 22, 2024 Massachusetts has decided to pardon offenders charged with simple marijuana possession. As announced by Governor Healey, “I am exercising my executive power as governor under the Massachusetts Constitution, subject to approval by the Governor’s Council, to pardon all misdemeanor convictions for marijuana possession on record in our state.” This is the first state to do so since President Biden decided to grant pardons to federal offenders charged with simple marijuana possession. Though the Governor’s Council approved the pardons and unanimously supported the effort, they voic ..read more

April 14, 2024 Representatives from Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont’s administration have announced another delay. This delay affects the state’s Clean Slate law, once again preventing its full implementation from taking effect. As such, those hoping for automatic expungements from the Clean Slate law must wait longer. This delay follows an announcement from three months ago about the law taking effect in January 2024. Had it begun, it would have expunged the misdemeanors and felonies of over 80,000 individuals. According to the representatives, the state has successfully cleared the records ..read more

April 18, 2024 The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced its settlement agreement with a private security services provider. This agreement addressed allegations of the provider discriminating against non-U.S. citizens.  According to the case, the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when verifying employees’ ability to work in the U.S. via the employment eligibility verification (Form I-9) process. As a result of this case, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division made the following statement concerning the I-9 process ..read more

April 16, 2024 Massachusetts legislators intend to pass legislation prohibiting employers from using credit reports for employment. As such, the Massachusetts House of Representatives recently passed a bill to amend the state’s consumer protection law. The bill is called “An Act Reducing Barriers to Employment Through Credit Discrimination” (H. 1434) and will soon undergo review by the Senate.  If passed into law, H. 1434 would address employers’ requests for and acquired reports from consumer reporting agencies. In most cases, it would bar employers from obtaining a report with any bea ..read more

April 11, 2024 Vermont legislators have returned to discuss reforming the state’s existing expungement system. They will also discuss expanding the ability for residents to seal old criminal records. However, this attempt closely resembles a similar measure that Governor Phill Scott vetoed almost two years ago. Vermont currently offers two methods for individuals to limit or remove access to their criminal records: expungement and sealing. Expunging records effectively eliminates the recorded criminal history, making it appear like it never happened. Sealing removes the record from public ac ..read more

April 10, 2024 Hawaii’s state Senate has considered House Bill 1595 (HB 1595). This bill makes the state responsible for starting the expungement process for some convictions and arrests for minor drug offenses. However, the bill received significant modifications during a hearing with the Senate’s Committee on Judiciary. The first draft of HB 1595 proposed a process for the state to start the expungement process. This process would apply to criminal records with arrests or convictions for third-degree promoting a detrimental drug. In addition, it would require the Hawaii Criminal Justice Da ..read more

April 4, 2024 A series of bills concerning old marijuana convictions recently reached Maine legislators. These proposals intend to address the record-sealing process for marijuana convictions, as marijuana is legal in the state. According to the bills, they would expand the list of qualifying convictions, possibly creating an automatic sealing process. In 2017, Maine legalized the recreational use of marijuana. Despite this, convictions for possessing or using marijuana before legalization have remained on individuals’ records. These remaining records created significant hardships for those ..read more

March 20, 2024 Employers and consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) should prepare to update their Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Summary of Consumer Rights. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), employers must use the updated version starting March 20, 2024. Employers must provide this form before taking adverse action based on background checks. Furthermore, the CFPB reminded employers to include the summary with every pre-adverse action notice. The new summary of consumer rights will consist of an English and Spanish version. The form is “A Summary of Your Rights Und ..read more

March 20, 2024 The Montgomery County Council in Maryland recently introduced a new ban-the-box bill. It would strengthen the county’s existing ban-the-box requirements for landlords. For example, it would improve the established protections for renters. To do so would reinforce the requirement to disclose criminal and credit histories before landlords make a preliminary decision. Council member Laurie-Anne Sayles sponsored the bill, with Council Members Evan Glass and Sidney Katz cosponsoring it. They introduced the bill to amend the county’s ban-the-box legislation. The legislation to recei ..read more

March 15, 2024 The Hawaii House of Representatives recently passed House Bill 1595 (HB 1595), which the Senate will soon review. This bill would create a state-initiated process to expunge eligible criminal records at no cost. According to the House, it would “expunge records of arrests and convictions for the offense of promoting a detrimental drug.”  Hawaii already has an expungement program for people with non-convictions. There are programs for some first-time alcohol, property, and drug offenses as well. However, some have criticized the existing program due to its costs and the di ..read more