Our children will be in danger because schools and daycares won't know if they are hiring people with criminal records.

Childcare providers subject to fingerprinting background checks aren’t affected by Clean Slate. Clean Slate still provides access to otherwise sealed records for necessary and relevant purposes, including employment to people working with children, elderly people or vulnerable populations.

Law enforcement agencies will unknowingly start hiring people with criminal records.

Law enforcement agencies will still have access to sealed criminal records when considering new hires.

Clean Slate will completely erase criminal records.

Clean Slate only allows for the sealing of records after a period of time, not expungement. That means the records will still exist but can only be viewed under certain circumstances. Additionally, Clean Slate will not seal the records of individuals who are required to register as a sex offender or for anyone who has been convicted of a crime where a life sentence may be imposed.

This will seal the records of dangerous people, like murderers.

Some types of crimes, like murder, are never eligible for sealing under Clean Slate. Additionally, a person must have completed their sentence, including all parole time, without further incident before a record is sealed.

Victims will lose justice once records are sealed.

Clean Slate does not lessen sentences or penalties and does not affect orders of protection, restitution, reparations or other forms of victim compensation.

Clean Slate allows any record to be sealed at any time.

Records will not be sealed until certain conditions are met. For misdemeanors, a person will need to stay out of legal trouble for three years after they are released from custody. For felonies, it will take eight years after conviction or release from prison, and a person’s record will not be sealed if they have a pending conviction or charge after completion of the waiting period, or if they’re still on probation or parole.

Asking about someone’s criminal record will be illegal.

This is false and has nothing to do with sealing records. Clean Slate has no impact on the ability to inquire into someone’s criminal history. Clean Slate doesn’t change state, federal or local laws regarding when/how people can ask about records – sealed or otherwise.

Sealing criminal records is dangerous.

For someone to even get their record sealed under Clean Slate, they will need to complete their sentence, including any probation or parole, complete the waiting period, and not have a new conviction (which would restart the clock) or a pending charge. These people have paid their debt to society and shown they want to rejoin their communities as law-abiding citizens.

Clean Slate was rushed through the Legislature with no care or thought.

The Legislature consulted with a diverse group of stakeholders over the course of several years to make sure Clean Slate will best serve New Yorkers. These stakeholders included the state Business Council, district attorneys, victim’s rights advocates, faith-based groups, business advocates, labor unions and major employers across the state.^1,2

Sealing records encourages people to commit more crimes.

As people secure jobs, housing and education, it helps them break free from a cycle of poverty and this will reduce recidivism. Economic opportunities make people less likely to resort to crime.³ On a larger scale, research by the Chamber of Commerce suggests that, by ending employment discrimination over criminal records nationwide, the U.S. could gain $78 million in gross domestic product.⁴

Clean Slate undermines the concept of personal responsibility and facing consequences for your actions.

The process includes a years-long mandatory waiting period, where a person must remain crime-free in order to have their record sealed. This will demonstrate their rehabilitation and commitment to staying on a better path. The purpose of a prison sentence is to rehabilitate an individual to eventually reintegrate and become a productive member of society, not serve as lifetime punishment.

Police will be so busy sealing records that they won’t have time to do their jobs keeping us safe.

Police will be unaffected by this. The Office of Court Administration will be responsible for sealing records. They will have three years from when the law goes into effect to seal the records of currently eligible New Yorkers; we aren’t expecting this to happen immediately. Additionally, Clean Slate is expected to lead to lower rates of recidivism, reducing the burden on the criminal justice system.

This means criminals will be given jobs over people with a clean record.

Under current law, it is already illegal for an employer to discriminate against someone due to their criminal record; employers are required to consider multiple factors. If there is no direct relationship between a prior offense and the specific employment, which would involve an unreasonable risk, an employer would be engaging in discrimination. If a person has the skills needed to do a job, they should be able to be considered for it. That’s why so many business groups, including the Business Council, support this legislation.

Without this law, I can see the record of anyone I want.

You currently need a person’s full name – including their middle initial – and date of birth, along with a $95 fee in order to see if a criminal record exists.

Roommates and residents in owner-occupied multiunit housing are at risk.

A landlord can still ask for a person’s public record, along with references, credit checks, etc. This is because there are exceptions for rental units in owner-occupied two-family homes, rooming houses occupied by the owner or a member of the owner’s family, as well as for same-sex rentals and certain retirement communities.