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Written By ESR News Blog Editor Thomas Ahearn
Signed into law by Governor Roy Cooper on June 25, 2020, the North Carolina Second Chance Act (Senate Bill 562) is a new law that took effect on December 1, 2020, and will expand who may qualify for expungements – the process by which a criminal record is sealed or erased from the public – in the state of North Carolina.
The Second Chance Act (SB 562) is a bipartisan “clean slate” bill that will expand eligibility for expunging nonviolent criminal convictions after a waiting period, and automates the expungement of certain dismissed or “not guilty” charges, according to the NC Second Chance Alliance website at https://ncsecondchance.org/.
This Second Chance Act (SB 562) also allows prosecutors to petition for the expungement of dismissed or “not guilty” charges and Raise the Age convictions, and allows individuals to petition for the expungement of multiple nonviolent misdemeanor convictions after seven (7) years of good behavior.
The NC Second Chance Alliance – a statewide alliance of people with criminal records that address the barriers they create to successful reentry – stated that 1 in 4 North Carolinians have criminal records that create devastating “collateral consequences” that impact housing, employment, and other opportunities.
Second chance programs that help to give ex-offenders with a prior criminal record a chance to find work after leaving prison have spread in 2020, according to leading global background check provider Employment Screening Resources® (ESR), which compiled the “ESR Top Ten Background Check Trends” for 2020.
Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – which was ranked the #1 screening provider by HRO Today in 2020 – offers job applicants with criminal records a white paper on “Ten Critical Steps for Ex-Offenders to Get Back into the Workforce” and an Ex-Offender Resources Page. To learn more about ESR, visit www.esrcheck.com.
NOTE: Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.
© 2020 Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – Making copies of or using any part of the ESR News Blog or ESR website for any purpose other than your own personal use is prohibited unless written authorization is first obtained from ESR.
