Author: CCRC Staff

Editorial staff of the Collateral Consequences Resource Center

CCRC publishes California Compilation of Collateral Consequences

The CCRC is pleased to announce the publication of the California Compilation of Collateral Consequences (CCCC), a searchable online database of the restrictions and disqualifications imposed by California statutes and regulations because of an individual’s criminal record.  Federal collateral consequences can also be searched through the CCCC database. This new resource follows on the heels of similar compilations of collateral consequences that CCRC has developed of federal laws and rules, and of two other state systems (Wisconsin and Vermont).  The database builds on research originally published in 2014 by the American Bar Association, brought up to date and restructured to permit more precise searches of the specific activities and rights affected by various consequences.  A redesigned search function makes it easier to explore the relationship between consequences and their implementing regulations, and among different consequences in state and federal law. Users may access directly complete and current statutory and regulatory text for each consequence.

Read more

California enacts sweeping fair employment law

On October 14, California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law AB 1008, the California Fair Chance Act, a bill we covered upon its passage in the legislature last month.  The Act extends a new “ban-the-box” requirement to private as well as public employers, and makes failure to comply an “unlawful employment practice” subject to enforcement under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).  The new law also broadens FEHA enforcement to cover an employer’s consideration of certain criminal records in the hiring process.  When the new law takes effect on January 1, 2018, California will become only the fourth state in the Nation to provide the full protections of its fair employment law to individuals with a criminal record. (New York, Wisconsin and Hawaii are the others.)

Read more

New report: 50-state guide to expungement and restoration of rights

CCRC is pleased to announce the publication of its 50-state guide to expungement and restoration of rights: “Forgiving and Forgetting in American Justice.” This report catalogues and analyzes the various provisions for relief from the collateral consequences of conviction that are now operating in each state, including judicial record-sealing and certificates of relief, executive pardon, and administrative.  Its goal is to facilitate a national conversation about how those who have a criminal record may best regain their legal rights and social status. Given the millions of Americans who have a criminal record, and the proliferation of laws and policies excluding them from a wide range of opportunities and benefits, there is a critical need for reliable and accessible relief provisions to maximize the chances that these individuals can live productive and law-abiding lives after completion of their court-imposed sentences. Whatever their form, relief provisions must reckon with the easy availability of criminal records, and the pervasive discrimination that frustrates the rehabilitative goals of the justice system. It is not the report’s purpose to recommend any specific approach to relief.  Rather, our goal is simply to survey the present legal landscape for the benefit of the policy discussions now underway in legislatures […]

Read more

Clean Slate Clearinghouse goes live

  Earlier today the Council of  State Governments (CSG) launched the Clean Slate Clearinghouse, an impressive online resource that provides information on the availability of expungement and sealing in all 50 states and helps individuals with criminal records connect with pro bono legal service providers.  The project, which is jointly funded by the U.S. Departments of Justice and Labor, is the result of over a year’s work by CSG and its partner organizations. The resource is focused squarely on record closure mechanisms and does not cover restoration authorities that leave the record intact, such as executive pardon, judicial certificates of relief, or nondiscrimination laws.  It also does not directly address the effect of closure in different jurisdictions.  It does, however, provide succinct information about the various record closure procedures available in each state, and does so in a way that non-lawyers can easily understand. In addition, it collects links to state application forms and guides as well as links to helpful third-party resources.  As such, it will be a useful tool for individuals seeking to leave their criminal records in the past.  It complements the more detailed legal analysis in the Restoration of Rights Project. The Clearinghouse is available at https://cleanslateclearinghouse.org. We […]

Read more

California poised for major change in fair employment law

The California legislature has approved, and sent to the governor’s desk for signature, a bill that would dramatically expand protections for people with a criminal record under the state’s Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA).  Currently FEHA bars only discrimination that has a racially disparate effect.  If signed by the governor as expected, the new law will independently prohibit discrimination based on criminal record by most public and private employers, subject to FEHA’s administrative enforcement scheme. California will become only the fourth state in the country to extend the full protections of its fair employment law to individuals with a criminal record.  (The others are New York, Wisconsin, and Hawaii). 

Read more