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Legislators in Michigan passed a bill that allows residents to expunge up to four misdemeanors after 7 years have passed and 2 felonies after 10 years.

About The Bill

Lawmakers in Michigan updated section 780.321 of the Michigan Compiled Laws to create allowances for residents to expunge certain criminal records, with some limitations. The revision specifies that:

• Up to 4 misdemeanor convictions for offenses for which the maximum punishment is imprisonment for not more than 92 days can be expunged after 7 years have passed since the individual was sentenced.
• Up to 2 felony convictions can be expunged if:
• Ten years have passed since either the sentencing or completion of imprisonment.
• The offense is one that is eligible to be sealed.

Learn more.

Convictions That Cannot Be Expunged

Section 780.321 lists some circumstances under which an individual will not be permitted to have their convictions expunged. They include:

• If the person has pending criminal charges.
• If the person has more than 1 conviction for an assaultive crime or an attempt to commit an assaultive crime that is recorded and maintained in the department of state police database.
• If the offense is a serious misdemeanor.
• If the offense is for a crime of dishonesty.

The update also explains that a crime of dishonesty is any violation as defined by the Compiled Laws in chapters XXVA and XLI, Felony: Certain Felony Violations.

The Expungement Process

Each court will review convictions and inform the arresting law enforcement agency about any that they have identified as eligible for expunction on or before the tenth day of each month. After being notified, the agencies will make these records unavailable to the public. This involves cutting off access to the arrest record, fingerprinting, conviction, sentencing details and notification that a conviction has been set aside.

This process will begin 2 years after the amendment goes into effect.

Michiganders who have any convictions expunged may then act as if the offenses never occurred. Once those records are sealed, no information about them will be publicly available. The goal of this effort is to provide second chance opportunities so people can rejoin society and more easily find jobs, housing and other necessities.

What Employers In Michigan Should Know

Employers that operate in Michigan should be aware that many residents will become eligible to have certain criminal records expunged. When this happens, organizations may not use those records to help make employment or other decisions about any consumer.

This makes it important for employers to work with an accredited Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA). CRAs take all reasonable steps to ensure the reports they produce only contain current, accurate data that can be used to help hiring managers make informed decisions, maintain safe workplaces and conduct due diligence.

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