Senate Bill 393 Signed By Governor Brown

SAN FRANCISCO—California Governor Edmund G. Brown signed Senate Bill 393 on October 11, the Consumer Arrest Record Equity (C.A.R.E.) Act, to seal arrest records and halt barriers to employment and housing for individuals arrested, but never convicted of a crime. The CARE Act, which was signed into law by the governor, was authored by State Senator Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and was sponsored by San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón.  The law goes into effect January 1, 2018.

California Assembly OKs sealing arrest records of people not convicted

“Our clients are routinely denied jobs and licenses based on non-conviction arrests,” said Sarah Crowley, Director of the Clean Slate Practice at the East Bay Community Law Center. “This bill’s expanded sealing remedy will help ensure that people are not penalized for criminal justice contacts that have no bearing on their ability or character.”

Lawsuit Filed Against California DMV for Unlawfully Reporting and Maintaining Criminal Records of One Million State Drivers

DMV Policies Violate Californians’ Constitutional Rights and Jeopardize Employment Opportunities, according to the East Bay Community Law Center & Social Justice Law Project

Oakland, Calif., February 24, 2016 — A new lawsuit filed today charges the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) with a widespread practice of illegally retaining and reporting the criminal history records of upwards of 1 million Californians.

Haunted by the Past: A Criminal Record Shouldn’t Ruin a Career

It’s well-known that private background checks frequently contain misinformation. At the East Bay Community Law Center in Berkeley, California, our Clean Slate Practice sees hundreds of clients each year who have a criminal record and are seeking employment. From a decade of experience, we know that private background checks produced by CRAs are riddled with an unacceptably high number of errors.