Hartford Business Journal

18 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | JANUARY 23, 2023 Any bank can give you a decision. NOT ALL OF THEM replace red tape with decision makers who can give you an answer quickly. Our local teams have helped Connecticut businesses for more than 220 years. Let us help you. Visit washtrust.com or call 800-475-2265 Member FDIC. WTComm_HBJ_MAY-9_Education_halfpg_JAN23_UPDATE_r1_v1.indd 1 WTComm_HBJ_MAY-9_Education_halfpg_JAN23_UPDATE_r1_v1.indd 1 1/12/23 5:45 PM 1/12/23 5:45 PM document must include a clarification about what should be included. "Employers on their job applica- tions need to make sure they have a disclaimer if they're asking for prior convictions that employees don't need to disclose any erased records," Schwartz said. Employers that ignore Clean Slate could make themselves open to lawsuits. The law makes it a discrimi- natory practice to consider an erased record during the hiring process. If a would-be employee were to allege that was the sole reason for an adverse employment action like not being hired, an employer could be liable. But even before Clean Slate, Connecticut had some restrictions on what employers could ask potential employees, said Vincent Farisello, a partner at Connecticut law firm Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey. "Since 2016, Connecticut has had what's called a 'ban the box' law, which essentially means that for the most part, employers in Connecticut cannot ask about criminal history on an initial employment applica- tion," said Farisello, adding that law enforcement agencies and certain other employers can be exempt from this statute. Farisello said it's important for employers to update their equal employment opportunity policies to include these new erased records as a protected class. Educating hiring managers on the law is important too, Farisello said. Both employment lawyers also said it's important to take conviction erasures into consideration during background checks. Farisello said making third-party background check companies aware of the law change is important. Schwartz said employers should be "cautious" when looking into older criminal records during the hiring process. "If they run background checks, they should not assume that the information on the background check can be relied upon because there may be limits to how that information is to be used, or maybe the record has been cleaned or is incomplete," Schwartz said. "An employer might just do a Google search — the erasure of the criminal records isn't going to erase the internet." Farisello said he's already seen the "tides turning a bit" over the past several years regarding employers' willingness to hire people with past convictions, and Clean Slate is another step in that direction. "This will go a long way to clearing some of those barriers (of employ- ment) because the law says an employer cannot deny employment based on the existence of these erased records," Farisello said. Vincent Farisello

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