Recently the legislature passed a new law (House Bill 55) that
makes many changes to Louisiana’s expungement law. One of the most important
changes deals with internet based companies that sell criminal records to
employers performing background checks on job applicants. Because even a minor
offense on your criminal record can prevent you from getting a job, it is
important that you understand how the new law affects your rights with respect
to your criminal record and how you can protect your privacy once you have
gotten an expungement.
It is a
problem that I see often in my criminal law practice: someone is denied a job
because their employer discovered they have a criminal record. More frequently
in past years employers are purchasing criminal backgrounds over the internet
from companies that buy them in bulk from the police department or clerk’s
offices (some people say they may even hack into databases). Because of the huge
amounts of criminal records obtained at a time it is not unheard for these
companies to make a mistake in either identification or the type of charges. In
other words, the criminal records these companies sell may not be completely
accurate which could cost you a job.
The new law
states that after you have an arrest or conviction expunged off your criminal
record and you give any company proper notice of your expungement, they can no
longer sell it to a prospective employer or maintain the information on their
website. Any company that sells your criminal record after you have notified
them of your expungement is liable to you for damages, court costs and attorney
fees. In other words you can sue them.
Another important change to the expungement
law is that you are not required to disclose to a prospective employer that you
were previously arrested or convicted after you receive an expungement. This
means that you can check “no” on a job application if it asks if you have been
arrested or convicted.
It is
important to understand that when your criminal record is expunged the record
of it is not destroyed, but rather removed from public view. Public records are
those kept by the clerk’s office or law enforcement and does not include online
companies. After you receive an expungement you must take steps to inform these
online companies that your criminal record has been expunged. Hiring an
experienced criminal attorney can help ensure that a potential employer does
not deny you a job because they have discovered you have a criminal record
(that is now expunged) from one of the many online companies.
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