New-Jersey-Employment-Licensing

Public and private employers with more than 15 employees must delay inquiry into criminal history until after the first interview.  A certificate of rehabilitation issued by a sentencing court or supervisory agency lifts bars to employment, except as provided in the Forfeiture Act, but conduct may still be considered.  Licensing authorities may not deny a license or otherwise discriminate based on conviction unless it relates adversely to the occupation, defined by a multi-factor test. Pardon, expungement, or certificate of rehabilitation preclude a licensing authority from disqualifying an applicant. Under a law enacted in June 2021, housing providers will be prohibited from consideration of any criminal record at the initial rental application stage, allowed to consider only certain records after a conditional offer is made, and required to follow substantive and procedural standards for withdrawal of a conditional offer.