A Reality Check on Background Checks from MN Justice Research Center
As legal aid attorneys and advocates know, the consequences of a criminal record can be devastating to our clients. Private sector criminal background checks are used extensively to screen applicants for housing, employment, and volunteering opportunities. In 2024, the Minnesota legislature enacted a “Clean Slate” law to address this discrimination by automatically sealing many criminal records. To date, the extent to which private sector companies comply with the new law is unknown.
To find out, the Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC) has begun a mixed-methods study of the new law’s implementation to see if people are experiencing the impact. MNJRC’s study, in partnership with the University of Maryland and Northeastern University, we will measure the implementation and effectiveness of the Clean Slate law in Minnesota.
In the next stage of the research process, MNJRC will conduct practitioner focus groups and community listening sessions to improve its understanding of Minnesotans' day-to-day experiences with background checks and expungements. These will take place beginning on August 15, and into early fall of 2025. MNJRC will then disseminate results and provide “Know Your Rights” seminars.
“Attorneys and legal aid professionals are on the ground experiencing the Clean Slate law in action every day—their involvement in this research is critical. In order to understand the status quo around expungements and the early implementation of the clean slate law, we need to talk directly to the practitioners who are serving clients seeking resolutions with criminal records,” said Dr. Katie Remington Cunningham, Research Director at MNJRC.
MNJRC is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to driving meaningful changes to Minnesota’s criminal legal system through rigorous and community-centered research, education, and policy development. The organization is made up of individuals with a diverse range of expertise and experience with the criminal legal system including scholars, practitioners, students, survivors, and formerly incarcerated individuals.
Practitioner focus groups and community listening sessions for fall 2025 have been scheduled, with some locations still TBD. Find a date that works for you and RSVP here. Advance registration is strongly encouraged, but not required, and there is no deadline.