Prince George’s County Amends Fair Criminal Records Screening Standards

September 3rd, 2024 | Sterling

On August 1st, 2024, the County Council of Prince George’s County, Maryland amended the “Fair Criminal Records Screening Standards” with ordinance CB-019-2024 renaming the original ordinance as “Access to Employment for Returning Citizens.” The amended ordinance adds new restrictions to employers who use criminal record history for employment purposes. The new amendments are effective September 16, 2024.  

Background  

In 2015 Prince George’s County enacted the “Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards” ordinance. The law was one of the first progressive “Ban the Box” laws in the country by moving beyond just simply removing questions on employment applications about criminal history. The law, among other things, places restrictions on employer’s inquiries of applicant’s criminal history, requires individualized assessments by the employers, and requires specific steps employers must follow pertaining to adverse action procedures that differ are in addition to the federal Fair Credit Report Act requirements.  

Scope of Amendments  

The amendments add several new requirements for employers while keeping most of the requirements of the existing ordinance.  

First the following new definitions were added:  

  • Arrest means being apprehended, detained, taken into custody, held for investigation, or otherwise restrained by a law enforcement agency or military authority due to an accusation or suspicion that the person committed a crime.  
  • Conviction means a verdict or plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a criminal act.  
  • Sentence means the term of imprisonment or probation imposed on a convicted defendant for criminal wrongdoing.  
  • Nonviolent Felony means 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.  

Second, the amendments slightly modified the scope of whom the law applies under the definition of “employer” to mean an entity operating and doing business in the country that employs ten (10) or more persons full-time in the county. The original definition applied to twenty-five (25) full-time persons.  

Third, the amendments now prohibit an employer from inquiring into or considering at any time the following types of following types of records:  

  • Convictions or Conviction Records where the sentence of the applicant was completed for a nonviolent felony, at least (5) years or sixty (60) months ago.  
  • Convictions or Conviction Records where the sentence of the applicant was completed for a misdemeanor, at least thirty (30) months ago.  
  • Arrests that did not result in a conviction, except where the result was probation before judgement. In such cases, these shall be treated as misdemeanors.  
  • Arrests or convictions for possession of marijuana, cannabis, or cannabis-related materials or paraphernalia, provided any sentence for such crime has been completed, unless it was a conviction that included an intent to distribute.  

Last, employers are prohibited from conducting background checks or investigations that do not conform to the restrictions of the ordinance.  

Exemptions  

There are exemptions under the ordinance which remain unchanged from the original version. The ordinance indicates these apply to employers who have exemptions under applicable Federal, state, or county law or regulation.   

Take Aways  

Employers should carefully review the new amendments and determine what updates they may need to make to their background screening policies and procedures. Employers should always review with their legal counsel before making any changes to their screening policies. If employers are not certain if they are exempt from compliance with the ordinance, they should also consult their legal counsel to make that determination.  

The Information contained herein is for informational purposes only. Sterling is not a law firm, and none of the information contained in this notice is intended as legal advice. Clients are encouraged to consult with their legal counsel about the impacts of any requirements. This and other important legislative updates can be found on the Sterling website:  https://www.sterlingcheck.com/resources/compliance-updates/  

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