Employment Law
E-ALERT
May 2012
Criminal Background Checks:
Employers Beware! New CORI Law Effective May 4, 2012
Friday, May 4, 2012, marked the effective date of important new rules that were passed into law on July 31, 2010. The first phase of CORI (Criminal Offender Records Information) Reform took effect on November 4, 2010 and prohibited questions about criminal history in initial employment applications.
This change was often referred to as "Ban the Box!" The second phase of CORI Reform is now in effect. Some important changes to be aware of include:
- Written CORI policy is now mandatory for employers conducting 5 or more criminal background checks annually.
- Employers must provide criminal background information (obtained from any source) to job applicant before asking about it.
- Employers must provide copy of criminal background report to job applicant who is not hired based on criminal background information.
- Employers are subject to fines up to $50,000 for violation of CORI law.
CONTACT
If you have any questions about this alert, please contact the author, Tamsin R. Kaplan, at 
(617) 589-3892 or tkaplan@davismalm.com.
This article is provided as a courtesy and may not be relied upon as legal advice, or to avoid taxes and penalties. Distribution to promote, market, or recommend any arrangement or investment to avoid or evade taxes, including penalties, is expressly forbidden. Any communication with the author as to its contents, does not, of itself, create a lawyer-client relationship. Under the ethical rules applicable to lawyers in some jurisdictions, this may be considered advertising.
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