iGovernor David A. Patterson recently signed into law two bills intended to improve employment opportunities for individuals with criminal records. The first law, which takes effect on February 1, 2009, requires employers to provide individuals subject to criminal background checks with a copy of Article 23-A of New York’s Correction Law. Article 23-A sets forth factors that employers must weigh before discharging or refusing to hire an individual because of a criminal record. The law also requires employers to post a copy of Article 23-A and any associated regulations in a “visually conspicuous manner” at the workplace.
The second law, which is already in effect, amended the New York State Human Rights Law to protect employers from negligent hiring claims arising from harm caused by employees with criminal records. If an employer makes a “reasonable, good faith determination” to hire or retain an applicant or employee after learning of his or her criminal record and evaluating the factors set forth in Article 23-A, a presumption arises that the criminal record is not admissible in evidence.
