Rhode Island Employment Law Re: Use of Applicant's Criminal Records: Arrests, Charges and Expungement.

In the wake of the EEOC's recent pronouncement regarding the use of criminal arrests and convictions in the employment law setting, a brief review of Rhode Island laws regarding criminal records as part of a job application.  In Rhode Island it is illegal for any employer to include on any application for employment (except for law enforcement positions)a question inquiring whether the applicant has ever been arrested or charged with a crime.  However, employers may inquire whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime.


Similarly, in Rhode Island, any person whose criminal records have been expunged shall be released from all penalties and disabilities from the crime of which he had been convicted.


In any application for employment, a person whose conviction of a crime has been expunged may state that he has never been convicted of a crime.