You did the crime, you did the time. Now, you're ready and able to do honest work in your trade or profession. The problem is: Nobody will hire you because a background check flags you as an ex-offender.

Ex-Offenders Find No Mercy in the Job Market

Even during the pandemic labor shortage, most employers still won't hire ex-offenders, no matter how well qualified. Most ex-offenders need a job as a condition of parole or probation. Consequently, they're forced to take whatever gig they can get.

A study from Rutgers University, Employment Opportunities for Ex-Offenders in New Jersey, reported that desperate ex-offenders could only get jobs in low-wage, low-skill industries like food service. Ex-offenders often offer to work for less than the advertised pay rate and take the least desired shifts. Thus, an ex-offender who trained to be a chef in prison might take a job as a dishwasher working the night shift just to get by and avoid going back to prison.

What If You Could Erase Your Record?

It's complicated. Many ex-offenders can get their records expunged, but others are specifically excluded. For example, people convicted of violent crimes, sex offenses, and other serious transgressions are simply not eligible under New Jersey law. The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development Employment offers specialized assistance for those ex-offenders. Other public, nonprofit, and private agencies also can help.

Expungement for many other ex-offenders is possible, but it's a long, tedious, and difficult paper chase. Make a mistake in the paperwork, and you must start over. The official New Jersey Courts website, How to Expunge Your Criminal and/or Juvenile Record, presents a 36-page packet of instructions and forms. Although the packet is prepared for self-represented litigants, the instructions clearly advise, “Try to get a lawyer.”

Why You Need a Lawyer

As NJ Courts explains, “The court system can be confusing, and it is a good idea to get a lawyer if you can.”

It's a very good idea to get your criminal history wiped off your background checks. Expungement is the difference between being trapped in dead-end jobs for the rest of your life or living the dream of a second chance at a respectable life and a well-paying job providing for the people you love.

Expungement under New Jersey law is complex and often subject to negotiation. How well you served your time has a lot to do with it. An experienced attorney knows the law, the process, and the negotiable, exculpatory circumstances that you would have no way of knowing about. Even if you think you're ineligible, it is wise to get legal advice. You have little to lose and everything to gain.

Veteran criminal defense attorney Joseph D. LentoJoseph D. Lento knows how to navigate the system, and he has a passion for fighting for your rights. Your success is his success. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686.