Legal Help for New Yorkers with Conviction-History Related Problems
David R. Jones, The Urban Agenda
The hot days of summer are upon us, with hazy afternoons and warm evenings full of enough fireworks to make you think we’re perpetually celebrating. On some level, we are: New York City is entering Phase 4 of reopening, and bars and restaurants are spilling out into the streets. Looking at the pictures of mask-free partiers across the city, you’d think this was your standard late July in New York.
But this is a summer season unlike any we have ever experienced. Many friends and family members are no longer with us, lost to COVID-19 and our city’s woefully unprepared health care system. Hundreds of thousands are unemployed: nearly 19 percent of the city’s workforce, with figures skewing much higher for Black and brown individuals. Companies are shedding jobs and closing their offices, some embracing permanent work-from-home policies for cut-to-the-bone staff. No lunchtime crowds mean no business for shops and restaurants. With so much spending power gone, it’s difficult if not impossible for these places to survive.
It may look like a celebration out on the streets, but in reality, the party’s over. The $600 per week supplemental unemployment many relied on to keep food on the table will end soon. The eviction moratorium in place since March will expire at the end of August, leaving tens of thousands who can no longer afford to pay their rent at risk of losing their homes. Even now, housing courts are on fast track to reopen their crowded, cramped halls to “clear up” the “backlog” of eviction proceedings pending before COVID-19 hit – despite pleas of front-line attorneys that, in the midst of a pandemic, this is bad for public health and bad for New York. Our governor has called increased homelessness “unavoidable.” This will definitely be true if the Office of Court Administration insists on pushing Housing Courts to reopen too soon.
People are struggling, none more than individuals marked with the permanent ink of a conviction record, the clear majority Black and brown. Many have lost work: let go because business was slow or dried up, or fired with no reason given. Many more have been kept out of the economy due to prejudice, discrimination, and senseless government policies: these New Yorkers are not getting unemployment insurance because they were unable to obtain work even before the pandemic. That $600 boost passed them by. Meanwhile, rent bills are piling up, and even getting enough to eat is a constant, terrifying struggle.
Competition for what jobs remain in this pandemic-scarred economy is going to be fierce. Some that might have gone to people with conviction histories – restaurant prep, office cleaning, security work, hospital orderly – are now subject to stiff competition from people laid off from other employment sectors. With so many applicants to choose from, employers are already finding ways to skip over those with conviction histories despite their qualifications – asking them unfair and sometimes illegal questions about their backgrounds and then claiming they “lied on the application” if they unintentionally get something wrong.
The State Legislature must do more on the policy side to eliminate loopholes like these. But employment discrimination against people with conviction histories already violates city, state, and even federal law. In ordinary times, workers facing these barriers – as well as occupational licensing issues, government job clearance difficulties and other such problems – could walk in to the Community Service Society’s (CSS) midtown offices or those of partner agencies across the city where we provide on-site services. Depending on the issue they would be paired with a rap sheet specialist who could help them understand and fix mistakes in their official conviction histories and obtain state-issued certificates demonstrating “rehabilitation,” or with an attorney who specializes in reentry law and employment discrimination litigation.
In these unordinary times, providing reentry legal services has never been more important. Although our offices are temporarily shuttered, CSS is partnering with Youth Represent, a legal services office providing advice and representation to young people affected by the criminal justice system, to launch a reentry Legal Hotline. By calling (646) 759-8088, individuals with conviction history-related problems will be connected to a specialist who can help and, where needed, put through to an experienced attorney on our staff. As always, our services and those of Youth Represent are free of charge. The reentry Legal Hotline operates from 9am to 5pm M-F; calls left after these hours will be returned the next business day.
Tough times are with us and more are ahead, but we are here to help. Don’t hesitate to call the reentry Legal Hotline if you are experiencing problems with employment: job denials, getting fired, not getting promoted; have had difficulties getting a professional license to practice a trade or government clearance for a job; have questions about your official record and what your options are, including whether anything can be sealed; or if you’ve been discriminated against in any other way because of your conviction history. We will do our level best to ensure your rights are protected and that those who violate them are brought to justice.