SearchNew York State Criminal Justice Legal Services
About Our Services | Current Activities | FAQs | How to Get Help
Publications | Accomplishments
The Legal Action Center (LAC) helps individuals with criminal records overcome a host of barriers that can often keep them out of jobs, housing, and other critical areas even when they are rehabilitated and ready to reenter society. We assist over 2,000 clients annually, with funding from the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternatives, the New York State Assembly, New York City Council, and Ira De Camp Foundation.
Current Activities
LAC helps people with criminal records:
- overcome discrimination in employment, housing, government benefits, and other areas
- get copies of their criminal history records (rap sheets) and correct errors,
- get documents that demonstrate rehabilitation and that can be helpful in getting jobs and occupational licenses.
To download publications describing cases brought by LAC (“Legal Action Center’s Leading Cases”) and the rights of individuals with criminal records, visit the Free Publications Library.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Is it illegal for employers to deny you a job or fire you because of your criminal record?
A. It is illegal for an employer to deny you a job, fire you, or discriminate against you because of past arrests that did not lead to a conviction, sealed violations, or Youthful Offender (YO) adjudications. These protections are in Article 23-A of the New York Correction Law. This same law makes it illegal for you a job or fire you because of a criminal record if that record is “directly related” to the job in question, or if hiring you would create an “unreasonable risk” to the safety of people or property.
Q. May an employer ask about your criminal record?
A. The New York State Human Rights Law prohibits employers from asking about arrests that did not lead to conviction, sealed violations – which are non-criminal offenses, and about Youthful Offender (YO) adjudications. Employers are allowed to ask about convictions.
Q. What if the job application asks if you have ever been convicted of a crime? Should you tell the truth?
A. We advise you to tell the truth. While it is tempting to lie out of hope that the employer might not find out about your criminal record, more and more employers are running criminal background checks, making it likely that they will find out anyway. If you lie (directly or by leaving out information) and the employer finds out, the employer can legally refuse to hire or fire you because of the lie. This is so even if your criminal record itself should not disqualify you from the job.
Q. Who can see your rap sheet?
A. Five categories of people and agencies are allowed to see a copy of your rap sheet from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services: (1) criminal justice and law enforcement agencies, (2) certain private and public employers authorized by statute, (3) most occupational licensing agencies, (4) bonding agencies, and (5) you.
Q. Can you get cases erased from my record?
A. No, you cannot erase or ‘expunge’ criminal record information in New York State. But State law does allow the courts and DCJS to ‘seal’ information about any case that was dismissed or that was otherwise terminated in your favor.
Q. Is there anything you can do about your criminal convictions?
A. If you have any number of misdemeanors and/or only one felony conviction, it cannot be sealed, but you can apply for a Certificate of Relief from Disabilities. If you have more than one felony, you may be eligible for a Certificate of Good Conduct. Such certificates restore some of the rights you may have lost as a result of your conviction. You can seal most convictions for violations.
To download free materials that describe these and related issues in detail, see the list of Free Publications below, or browse through our Criminal Justice Publications.
How to Get Help
Individuals or providers who are in New York or who have question about a New York State rap sheet may call the Legal Action Center at (212) 243-1313 and ask to speak with a paralegal. Because the Center gets far more criminal record-related calls than its staff can handle, the Center only takes these calls a few days a month. If you call, you will be told on which date to call back. If you have HIV or an alcohol or drug problem and tell the receptionist, you may get help more quickly. The Center has special funding to deal with those calls.
If you want a copy of your New York State rap sheet, ask for the first available Rap Sheet Workshop appointment to have your fingerprints taken. There might be a wait of several weeks. For follow-up questions about rap sheets you got through the Center, you can call any day of the week and ask for a paralegal.
Agencies interested in trainings should call (212) 243-1313, Monday through Friday, and request to speak with the training coordinator.
LAC WILL NOT RESPOND TO REQUESTS FOR HELP SENT BY E-MAIL TO THE LEGAL ACTION CENTER ADDRESS OR WEB SITE AND CANNOT SERVE "WALK-IN" CLIENTS.
We are sorry we cannot provide these services to individuals outside of New York. LAC’s National HIRE Network provides information about state-specific governmental agencies and community-based organizations to assist people with criminal records. These agencies and organizations may be of assistance in providing job-related services, answering questions related to problems arising from having a criminal record, or offering referrals to other useful organizations. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide individual legal services to people outside of New York.
Free Publications Available
The Center has written a number of user-friendly publications for individuals and service providers, which explain anti-discrimination laws and privacy laws that protect individuals with criminal records, alcohol/drug histories, and/or HIV/AIDS. To download these and other Legal Action Center publications, visit the Free Publications section of this website.
The Center also has produced a free webinars series called Know Your Rights: Anti-Discrimination Laws Protecting People with Alcohol and Drug Problems and Criminal Records. To watch any of the webinars at any time, visit the Webinar Archive.
For information on the publications, videos, DVDs and online courseware that the Center sells, visit the Online Store.
Accomplishments
- Won two lawsuits in 2007 challenging decisions by the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities to deny employment to individuals whose convictions were decades old and who had demonstrated remarkable evidence of rehabilitation; Obtained public housing or federally subsidized Section 8 housing for many individuals and families who had been denied housing due to a criminal record even though the individual with the conviction had demonstrated ample rehabilitation.
- Won numerous landmark victories in class action suits in the 1970’s and 1980’s overturning and rewriting policies of the New York City Transit Authority, the United States Postal Service, and other employers that denied jobs to qualified people with arrest and conviction histories. These lawsuits opened up thousands of jobs for people who are rehabilitated.
- Won case for foster parents who were trying to adopt their foster child despite passage of Adoption and Safe Families Act, which disqualified individuals from being foster or adoptive parents if they had particular convictions, regardless of the extenuating circumstances. Our clients’ young foster child had lived with our clients since infancy, and yet, the State sought to remove him because of the new rigid legislation. While the suit was pending, the law was amended (in large part, due to our efforts) to allow the foster parents to show evidence of rehabilitation. The court found that our client was completely rehabilitated and provided a loving and stable home.