By Cornell Expert Addresses Bar Association Lawyers
Esta Bigler, director of Labor Law and Employment Programs at Cornell’s ILR School, spoke to nearly 25 lawyers at the New York State Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Section fall meeting in Ithaca. Thomas Jones, an education associate with the school’s Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative, joined her for the presentation.
Jones discussed his own experience with the justice system and the importance of assessing applicants individually. Bigler said the presentation had two aims: explaining how the law applies and showing why applicants should be assessed as individuals.
Bigler reviewed how New York Correction Law Article 23-A, the state Human Rights Law, the Clean Slate Law, the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, ban-the-box rules and the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act affect hiring decisions.
The talk focused on both the legal requirements and the assumptions employers may make about applicants with felony or misdemeanor convictions. Bigler said the presentation was intended to help lawyers apply the rules in their own practices and when advising clients.
“Many labor and employment lawyers have never even heard of some of these laws,” Bigler said in the Cornell account.
What the Law Requires
Under Article 23-A, as explained by the state Department of Labor, an employer generally cannot reject an applicant solely because of a prior conviction. The law allows a denial when the conviction is directly related to the job or when hiring would create an unreasonable risk to property or safety.
Employers must consider factors including the job’s duties, the offense, time elapsed and evidence of rehabilitation. The presentation stressed that legal steps must be followed rather than assuming a conviction rules out a candidate.
Jones spoke about how a person’s circumstances can change after a conviction. Bigler said hearing that experience could help lawyers and employers look beyond assumptions.
Bigler and Jodi Anderson Jr., who directs technological innovation at the Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative, previously presented an eCornell program on hiring and retaining people with criminal records.
The ILR account said roughly 2.1 million New Yorkers have a criminal record and about 86,700 are under probation or parole supervision.
Clean Slate Timing and Next Steps
The New York courts say the Clean Slate Law took effect in November 2024. The court system has until November 2027 to build processes for automatically sealing eligible convictions.
The law does not mean every conviction is already sealed. Eligible misdemeanors generally have a three-year waiting period and eligible felonies an eight-year period, subject to other conditions and exceptions.
Bigler encouraged lawyers to use the presentation’s guidance when advising employer clients on hiring decisions. The event was part of the Labor and Employment Law Section’s fall meeting program.
Lawyers who attended can apply the reviewed statutes in their own practices. The presentation materials draw on Cornell ILR’s account of the session.
