Written by ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn
On January 1, 2021, Georgia Senate Bill 288 (SB 288) went into effect to give ex-offenders the opportunity to petition their criminal court to restrict and seal the record of a crime four years after their term ends have not been convicted of any new offense and have no pending charges.
Signed into law by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on August 5, 2020, SB 288 enables the courts to decide whether to uphold the petition by weighing the harm to the individual versus the need for the public to know about the Conviction is informed. Offenses such as sex crimes against children, violence against family members and DUIs are excluded.
Under SB 288 employers in Georgia who recruit former offenders whose criminal records have been restricted and sealed are protected from negligent recruitment or retention in civil proceedings so that they can participate in the “second chance” of an applicant who is best qualified for the job without fear of liability.
The employability of retired criminals who return to society “is a moral imperative and should be central to the criminal justice reform agenda,” said a report entitled “A Better Road for Criminal Justice: Training and Employment for Correctional Officers.” “. from the Brookings AEI Working Group on Criminal Justice Reform.
The report by Grant Duwe, Director of Research – Department of Corrections in Minnesota, Adjunct Scholar – American Enterprise Institute, and Makada Henry-Nickie, Fellow – Governance Studies, found that “Access to legal employment is key to reducing relapse and social Disability after prison is that returning citizens endure. “
The report – the sixth chapter of “A Better Road to Criminal Justice” – noted that “improving access to high quality academic and vocational training, which provides a skills base to meet the needs of the current labor market, is essential Significantly improving access to sustainable post-prison employment opportunities. “
Second chance programs and re-entry laws that allow former offenders with criminal records to find work will continue to evolve according to the ESR Top Ten Background Check Trends for 2021 compiled by the world’s leading background check provider, Employment Screening Resources® (ESR).
Attorney Lester Rosen, ESR Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), wrote in the article “The start of a first chance movement is critical to the success of the second chance movement” about how a first chance movement affects factors that should lead a person to criminal justice and imprisonment in the first place.
“Rather than asking employers to shoulder the brunt of providing employment opportunities for ex-offenders, the whole country should focus on providing a means to distract people from the criminal justice system,” wrote Rosen, author of The Safe Hiring Manual, “a guide to background checks.
Employment Screening Resources® (ESR), named # 1 Screening Company by HRO Today in 2020, offers a whitepaper entitled “Ten Critical Steps for Former Offenders to Return to Work,” an “ESR Ban the Box Resource “guide” and a Ban the Box resource page. Further information on ESR can be found at www.esrcheck.com.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer any legal service or legal advice of any kind or nature. All information on this website is for educational purposes only.
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