On February 7, 2012, Rep. Claire Levy and Sen. Pat Steadman introduced HB 12-1263 – Concerning Reducing Barriers to Employment by State of Colorado Agencies by People with Criminal Records. This summary is published here courtesy of the Colorado Bar Association’s e-Legislative Report.
If an agency requires an applicant’s criminal history in the hiring process, the agency may not:
- Unless a statute prohibits a person convicted of a specific crime from serving in that position, indicate that a person with a criminal record may not apply; and
- Inquire or determine the applicant’s criminal history until the agency makes a conditional offer of employment.
If the applicant has a criminal conviction, the agency must consider the following factors when deciding whether the conviction disqualifies the applicant from the position:
- The nature of the conviction;
- The relationship between the conviction and the specific position for hire and the bearing, if any, the conviction will have on his or her fitness or ability to perform the duties and responsibilities including, but not limited to, whether the conviction was for unlawful sexual behavior and whether the employment would place the applicant in contact with vulnerable persons;
- Any information produced by the applicant or produced on his or her behalf regarding his or her rehabilitation and good conduct; and
- The time that has elapsed since the applicant’s conviction.
The bill specifies that a regulatory authority cannot consider an individual’s criminal history when granting a state license unless certain conditions are met:
- The offense is specifically related to the profession being licensed and was committed within ten years of the application for licensure;
- The offense is a sex offense and licensure would permit the person to be employed in a position that has contact with vulnerable persons; or
- There is a specific statutory requirement to the contrary.
The amended bill passed out of the House on March 20 and has been assigned to the Judiciary Committee.
Summaries of other featured bills can be found here.
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