EMPLOYMENT LAW NEWS
Maryland’s Prince George County Updates Fair Chance Law
The Act now prohibits employers with 10 or more full-time employees in the county from asking for or considering certain past criminal records of job applicants.
What is the the “Employment Fairness Act for Returning Citizens” in Prince George County, Maryland?
Prince George County Council recently adopted the Employment Fairness Act for Returning Citizens (the Act), which amended and expanded its current “ban-the-box” law.
The Act now prohibits employers with 10 or more full-time employees in the county from asking for or considering certain past criminal records of job applicants.
Specifically, employers cannot consider convictions of a job applicant where the sentence was completed for the following:
- A nonviolent felony that occurred 5 years ago; or
- A misdemeanor that occurred 30 months ago.
What is considered a nonviolent felony in Prince George County, Maryland?
The definition of nonviolent felony, or “a felony conviction for a crime that is not a crime of violence as defined in Sec. 14-101 of the Criminal Law Article, Annotated Code of Maryland,” was further added to the Act. In addition to nonviolent felony, several other definitions were added to its Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards, including definitions for “arrest”, “conviction”, and “sentence”.
The Act also requires employers not to consider arrests of an applicant that did not result in a conviction, unless probation resulted before judgment. In these circumstances, employees can only treat the probation before judgment as a misdemeanor.
Employers are further prohibited from considering any arrest or conviction of an applicant for possession of marijuana, cannabis, or cannabis materials or paraphernalia if the sentence has been completed, unless there was a conviction for intent to distribute.
Finally, employers cannot conduct background checks or investigations that do not follow the above restrictions in the Act. Any violations of the Act by employers will be subject to penalties.
The Act took effect on Sept. 16, 2024.
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