Sally Adams Quoted in The Boston Globe

The Job Doc column in the May 7, 2006 issue of the Boston Globe includes a letter from a reader regarding criminal records checks:

Q: I was convicted of a drug-related felony about 18 or 19 years ago. Basically, I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Is there a time limit, say seven years, in which a potential employer can still get this information when he or she does a criminal records check? Or do they receive every offense ever recorded, no matter how long ago it was?

A: In Massachusetts, companies, agencies, hospitals, schools, and other organizations must first apply to the Criminal History Systems Board for approval to receive criminal records. There are two categories of criminal offender records, or CORI, reports: the ''publicly accessible" or general report, and the ''expanded" report. Some employers may apply to get the general report and a special application must be made by a potential employer to receive expanded reports. The expanded reports are often given to employers such as day-care centers, youth athletic organizations, eldercare facilities and the like and their applications for approval to receive expanded reports are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Attorney Sally Adams of the labor and employment law practice at Seyfarth Shaw says an 18-year-old felony conviction ''may well show up in an expanded CORI access inquiry. Otherwise the employer is limited to the publicly accessible CORI report." Therefore, the answer to your question depends, in large part, on the type of employer making the request for information.  In Massachusetts, job applicants are often asked if he or she has been convicted of a felony in the last five years? In your case you can truthfully answer, no.  To do a background check, a potential employer must also obtain your authorization in the form of your signature on a consent form that discloses the types of checks they intend to do.  I think that it is especially helpful for you to know that an individual may obtain a copy of their personal criminal record from the criminal history board. In that way you may get to see what a potential employer who does a CORI check will receive. Also, the board will assist in correcting inaccurate criminal records if necessary.