Licensing barriers removed for people with criminal records

Gov. Tom Wolf recently signed Senate Bill 637 into law, modernizing job-licensing requirements and allowing people with criminal records to receive licenses.

In Pennsylvania, one in five workers needs an occupational license from a board or commission.

Under the new law, boards and commissions can no longer use a person’s criminal history to deny someone a license unless the criminal history is directly related to the occupation in which they are seeking licensure; boards must individually consider applications; boards must create a public list of criminal offenses that might prevent licensure; allows individuals to get a preliminary decision if their conviction is likely to disqualify them from licensure; and creates temporary licenses in barbering and cosmetology for re-entrants trained in a correctional facility.

People convicted of sexual offenses are still barred from practicing as a health care practitioner.

“With the enactment of my legislation, we will provide fairness and transparency in licensing decisions, eliminate an old or irrelevant criminal record’s lifelong barriers to employment and support our Commonwealth’s skilled workforce needs,” Sen. John DiSanto (Dauphin/Perry), who introduced the bill, said.

The law is supported by several organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Justice Action Network, the Greater Harrisburg NAACP, and the PA Chamber of Business & Industry.