The Delaware Clean Slate Act marks a significant shift in the state’s approach to criminal record expungement. The new legislation automates the expungement process for qualifying criminal records, potentially impacting hiring practices across various industries.
The new law will streamline the expungement process, making it easier for individuals to clear their records and reintegrate into society. We have covered similar laws in states like New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Connecticut, where automatic expungement has been implemented to help individuals with low-level offenses clear their records.
Senate Bill 111, passed in 2021, took effect on August 1, 2024. The bill automates Delaware’s pre-existing mandatory expungement process. Under this legislation, the State Bureau of Identification will automatically expunge records that fall under the mandatory category. The new automation is a departure from the traditional manual application process, where individuals seeking expungement historically had to apply to remove arrests, charges, convictions, or adjudications from their records.
The new law is expected to clear criminal histories for approximately 290,000 individuals, representing about a third of Delaware’s population. This widespread expungement aims to remove barriers for individuals with qualifying records, facilitating their reintegration into society and the workforce.
To read the full details of Senate Bill 111 and Delaware’s Clean Slate Act, take a closer look here.
For a criminal record to be automatically cleared through the Clean Slate Act, it must qualify for “mandatory expungement.” Certain misdemeanors and felonies may not qualify due to specific details on a person’s record. These factors determine whether an expungement petition will be considered mandatory or discretionary.
Records Eligible for Mandatory Expungement
Records Not Eligible for Mandatory Expungement
Convictions that do not meet the mandatory criteria may also be considered for expungement through a discretionary process involving a separate application and review. The qualifications for expungement under Senate Bill 111 are nuanced. To read more about the guidelines for automatic expungement under the bill, read more here.
The Clean Slate Act supports diversity and inclusion initiatives by providing opportunities to rehabilitated individuals seeking a second chance to reintegrate into the workforce. Similar initiatives in other states that paved the way for clean slate laws have shown positive outcomes, making it easier for individuals to clear their records and reintegrate into society – streamlining background checks, enhancing the candidate pool, and supporting fair employment practices by automating the expungement of qualifying criminal records.
Although this new law represents a positive and transformative change in Delaware’s expungement process, it may temporarily impact hiring speed and record retrieval as qualifying expungements are processed. Additionally, employers hiring in and out of Delaware should remain mindful of employer regulations regarding second chance and clean slate laws in effect as the employment landscape rapidly evolves.