It has long been a public policy of the State of New York to prohibit “unfair discrimination against persons previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses.”1 To help facilitate the reintegration of convicted criminals into the workforce, the state enacted laws requiring employers to review the person’s background when making hiring decisions. The legislature recently concluded that employers are not suffi ciently aware of these laws and instead frequently impose “blanket barriers to employment based solely on criminal conviction records.”2 To ensure the public is well informed about the laws governing discrimination in employment based on a criminal record, effective February 1, 2009, employers will be required to provide notice in the following three ways:


Workplace Posting

New York and federal law already require employers to conspicuously post in their workplaces a host of different notices to employees. Employers must add to this list a copy of Article 23-A of the state Correction Law (“Article 23-A”) and any regulations promulgated pursuant to it.3 Article 23-A, which currently has no supporting regulations, sets forth the scope of New York’s prohibition of discrimination relating to the employment of persons previously convicted of one or more criminal offenses.


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