A recent opinion piece in the New York Daily News asks the following question: Would you like a convicted drug dealer to care for your grandmother in a nursing home?

This could be a dangerous ramification – one of many – of a new state law that takes effect on June 8. Under this statute, courts may seal the criminal records of certain drug felons, meaning there will be no record of their conviction, or convictions, when they apply for a job and undergo a pre-employment background check.

The change – part of a rollback of penalties for drug crimes – would effectively wipe the slate clean for drug dealers who undergo criminal background checks. Some argue that this could lead to convicted drug dealers taking care of children at a day care center, teaching at a school, or working at a nursing home.

While people who commit minor, nonviolent offenses because of their drug habits deserve a second chance to become productive citizens, many argue that lawmakers failed to include an exception for highly sensitive jobs – such as armored car guard, physician, foster parent, child-care worker, school teacher, school bus driver, nursing home aide, bank officer, insurance broker, and firefighter – that usually involve background checks.

For many of these jobs, New York state law actually requires criminal background checks and, in some cases, forbids hiring or issuing licenses to people with certain felonies on their records. But now, critics believe the Legislature has created a big loophole in that safety net since employers could fill these positions with ex-cons because they are not aware of any criminal records before making their decision.

Creating a safe, secure, and crime-free workplace depends on many factors, the most basic of which is the pre-employment background check. Pre-employ.com – a leading provider of background screening services nationwide – protects both employers and employees in a wide variety of industries with fast and accurate background checks and drug testing. For more information, please visit www.pre-employ.com, email info@pre-employ.com, or call 1-800-300-1821.

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