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The Governor of New Jersey announced a nearly 70% reduction to their expungement backlog.

Expungement Efforts

In 2024, New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy announced a massive reduction to the state’s expungement backlog. Workers were said to have processed nearly 110,000 orders in just over one year. This occurred following the establishment of an Expungement Unit which focused on this critical task.

The Unit was charged with sealing and expunging all eligible criminal records. State Attorney Matthew J. Platkin offered a positive statement about their efforts: “New Jersey is dedicated to aiding and supporting individuals who have made mistakes that have created obstacles to employment opportunities and housing. True reform includes helping to remove the stigma associated with an arrest or conviction that often stands in the way of success. We are committed to continuing to improve the expungement system in order to help individuals to overcome their past.”

New Jersey’s Second Chance Law

Governor Murphy signed a Second Chance law in December 2019. It created allowances for residents to have criminal records expunged after ten years had passed since:

• Their most recent conviction.
• The completion of any probation or parole.
• They paid necessary fines.

Highlights of that bill included:

• Creating allowances to expunge charges for possession of marijuana.
• Expunction opportunities for other cannabis-related offenses.
• Updating existing law to clarify that having a prior conviction will not disallow a person from getting eligible records expunged, even if the prior conviction is not eligible.
• Reducing the amount of time people must wait before they may have certain records expunged.
• Details about how individuals may expunge records that were dismissed or arrests which did not result in convictions.
• The elimination of a $75 filing fee for expunction requests.

Exceptions

Not every conviction can be expunged. The following types of offenses are not eligible:

• Murder.
• Robbery.
• Aggravated sexual assault.
• Other serious and violent crimes.

What Employers Should Know

Employers in New Jersey should know the state accelerated its expungement process. This means thousands of residents may already have had or soon could have various records sealed. Once that happens, organizations are prohibited from reviewing or considering those records when making employment or other decisions about consumers.

One of the simplest and most efficient ways for hiring managers to avoid inadvertently accessing expunged records is to work with a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) that has been accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA). To receive accreditation, CRAs must demonstrate that they follow reasonable procedures to provide up-to-date, accurate and reportable records in the background checks they compile.

Running Background Checks

If your business is bringing on employees, contactors or volunteers, please contact us. Backgrounds Online is an accredited CRA with more than 20 years of experience in the screening industry. Our highly trained team members can help you customize screening packages based on your particular needs, industry regulations and laws that are in effect where you operate and your candidates reside.

We are proud to be a service-first background check provider that is based in California. Our team is available to help you Monday through Friday from 5am to 6pm PT.