House Bill 1238

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT EMPLOYERS FROM INQUIRING EITHER ORALLY OR IN WRITING REGARDING AN APPLICANT'S CRIMINAL HISTORY; TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS; TO BRING FORWARD SECTION 45-27-12, FOR THE PURPOSE OF POSSIBLE AMENDMENT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. It shall be an unlawful employment practice for any employer, except for law enforcement agency positions or positions related to law enforcement agencies, to inquire either orally or in writing whether the applicant has ever been arrested, charged or convicted of any crime; provided that:

(a) If a federal or state law or regulation creates a mandatory or presumptive disqualification from employment based on a person's conviction of one or more specified criminal offenses, an employer may include a question or otherwise inquire whether the applicant has ever been convicted of any of those offenses; or

(b) If a standard fidelity bond or an equivalent bond is required for the position for which the applicant is seeking employment and his or her conviction of one or more specified criminal offenses would disqualify the applicant from obtaining such a bond, an employer may include a question or otherwise inquire whether the applicant has ever been convicted of any of those offenses; and

(c) Notwithstanding the foregoing any employer may ask an applicant for information about his or her criminal convictions at the first interview or thereafter, in accordance with all applicable state and federal laws.

SECTION 2. Section 45-27-12, Mississippi Code of 1972, is brought forward as follows:

45-27-12. (1) State conviction information and arrest information which is contained in the center's database or the nonexistence of such information in the center's database shall be made available for the following noncriminal justice purposes:

(a) To any local, state or federal governmental agency that requests the information for the enforcement of a local, state or federal law;

(b) To any individual, nongovernmental entity or any employer authorized either by the subject of record in writing or by state or federal law to receive such information; and

(c) To any federal agency or central repository in another state requesting the information for purposes authorized by law.

(2) Information disseminated for noncriminal justice purposes as specified in this section shall be used only for the purpose for which it was made available and may not be re-disseminated.

(3) No agency or individual shall confirm the existence or nonexistence of criminal history record information to any person or organization that would not be eligible to receive the information pursuant to this section.

(4) Upon request for a check pursuant to this section, the nongovernmental entity or employer must provide proper identification and authorization information from the subject of the record to be checked and adhere to policies established by the center for such record checks.

(5) Any individual or his attorney who is the subject of the record to be checked, upon positive verification of the individual's identity, may request to review the disseminated information and shall follow the procedure set forth in Section 45-27-11. If the individual wishes to correct the record as it appears in the center's system, the person shall follow the procedure set forth in Section 45-27-11. The right of a person to review the person's criminal history record information shall not be used by a prospective employer or others as a means to circumvent procedures or fees for accessing records for noncriminal justice purposes.

(6) The center may impose procedures, including the submission of fingerprints, fees or restrictions, as are reasonably necessary to assure the record's security, to verify the identities of those who seek to inspect them, and to maintain an orderly and efficient mechanism for access. All fees shall be assessed and deposited in accordance with the provisions of Section 45-27-8.

(7) Local agencies may release their own agency records according to their own policies.

(8) Release of the above-described information for noncriminal justice purposes shall be made only by the center, under the limitations of this section, and such compiled records will not be released or disclosed for noncriminal justice purposes by other agencies in the state.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.