Belfort quoted by MA Lawyer’s Weekly on CORI reform

We are proud to announce that in the May 28, 2012 issue of Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Bennett & Belfort, P.C. partner David E. Belfort was quoted in Dan McDonald’s front page article entitled “Bar Expects Fallout from Cori Reform”.   The final provision of the August 2010 CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) reform law officially went into effect on May 4th, 2012.  This provision, designed to give employers online access to potential employees’ criminal records, simultaneously restricts what can and cannot be asked on a written job application.  Most notably, employers can no longer inquire on an initial application whether the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime−dubbed the “ban-the-box” provision.   Though many management lawyers criticize this provision of the new law for increasing the risk to employers while protecting convicted criminals, a competing argument is that this provision will help to allow those with criminal records to get past the first hurdle of the employment process without being automatically disqualified based exclusively on their criminal history.  Advocates for those with criminal histories argue that those whom cannot secure employment are far more likely to re-offend.   While the newly enacted Federal law requires individual analysis of whether a criminal background check is job related and based on legitimate business need, Mr. Belfort points out that the new Massachusetts law seems relatively clear and thus may be less prone to litigation. Congratulations to Attorney Belfort on this recognition of his knowledge and experience in the field of employment law.