Legislative Alert

ENACTED LEGISLATION

COLORADO: Fingerprint-based criminal history checks required for individuals with access to federal tax information

Summary: Effective July 1, 2018, HB 1339 will require that any state or county applicant, contractor or employee who has or may have access to federal tax information to submit to a complete set of his or her fingerprints to the state agency for the purpose of conducting fingerprint-based criminal history record checks.

Impact(s): Colorado public agencies

View source document

DELAWARE: New background check requirements for Department of Labor employees

Summary: Effective July 11, 2018, all prospective employees, contractors and any subcontractors of the Department of Labor who will have access to federal tax information shall obtain a background check, including submission of fingerprints, in order to be considered for employment. Current employees and contractors who have access to federal tax information shall be required to submit to an initial and subsequent background checks, once every 10 years.

Impact(s): Delaware Department of Labor employees, contractors and subcontractors

View source document

NEW JERSEY: New background check requirements for prospective school employees

Summary: On April 11, 2018, an act was passed that prohibits a school district, charter school, nonpublic school or contracted service provider from employing an individual in a position which involves regular contact with students unless it performs a review of the employment history of the prospective employee to ascertain allegations of child abuse or sexual misconduct. This act became effective on June 1, 2018.

Impact(s): New Jersey schools

View source document

SOUTH CAROLINA: New law allows certain criminal records to be expunged

Summary: A new law that becomes effective on Dec. 27, 2018, will allow individuals to expunge certain criminal records from their record. A person who has multiple convictions arising out of the same sentencing hearing would be able to erase them from his/her record if the convictions are "closely connected." It will also allow ex-offenders to expunge first-offense simple drug possession and possession of drugs with intent to distribute convictions regardless of which drug was involved. The law applies retroactively to offenses committed prior to the law's passage but requires a person's record to be clean for at least 3 to 5 years before being permitted to apply for expungement.

Furthermore, the new law allows eligible persons with multiple convictions to select for expungement from those eligible for expungement the offense they believe will be most challenging in their job hunt. Only the first minor offense may be expunged from a person's record.

This new law provides an employer with immunity from civil action for hiring a worker with an expunged criminal record. However, it prohibits employers from using knowledge of any criminal history that has been expunged from a candidate's record adversely against the applicant.

Impact(s): South Carolina employers

View source document

WISCONSIN: Criminal background checks law amended

Summary: Act 278 was amended regarding discrimination based on arrest or conviction records under the Wisconsin fair employment law. The amendments went into effect on Aug. 1, 2018.

Impact(s): Wisconsin employers

View source document

WYOMING: Criminal background check requirements for teachers expanded

Summary: Wyoming legislature passed Act 63, effective on July 1, 2018, expanding background check requirements for teacher certification purposes. The new law states, "Any felony related to a sexual offense shall be considered to relate to the practice of teaching."

In addition, pursuant to SF 26, Act 11, effective July 1, 2018, the Wyoming legislature added "collection agency board for purposes of licensing" to its list of those to whom criminal history record information can be legally disseminated.

Impact(s): Wyoming schools and employers

View source document
View source document

OTHER UPDATES

U.S. DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY: New Jersey law upheld regarding employers' right to have an employee drug tested for marijuana

Summary: A federal court held that the New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act (NJCUMMA) and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (NJLAD) do not compel an employer to waive its requirement for employees to pass drug tests including for marijuana. Plaintiff filed a claim against its employer after he injured himself on the job and was subsequently required to take and pass a drug test before being able to return to work. The plaintiff argued that because he has a medical condition that requires him to take medical marijuana as well as narcotics for pain management, this requirement constituted disability discrimination and was a violation of the NJCUMMA and the NJLAD. Defendant filed a Motion to Dismiss the action. In its opinion, the court stated that marijuana continues to be illegal under federal law. It further stated that NJCUMMA explicitly provides that "nothing in this act shall be construed to require ... an employer to accommodate the medical use of marijuana in any workplace." It further noted that the NJCUMMA is "less expansive than several other states" because there are no employment protections for medical marijuana users in the statute. Defendant's Motion to Dismiss was granted.

Impact(s): New Jersey employers

View source document

This document and/or presentation is provided as a service to our customers. Its contents are designed solely for informational purposes, and should not be inferred or understood as legal advice or binding case law, nor shared with any third parties. Persons in need of legal assistance should seek the advice of competent legal counsel. Although care has been taken in preparation of these materials, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, currency or completeness of the information contained within it. Anyone using this information does so at his or her own risk.