The certification community, led by the Professional Certification Coalition (PCC), has expressed concern with a recently enacted “clean slate” law in Connecticut (Conn.) that prohibits private organizations in the state from basing eligibility and disciplinary decisions on certain criminal convictions.
Clean slate laws for ex-offenders have been enacted in a number of states with respect to considering criminal conviction history for licensure and employment decisions, but the Connecticut bill goes further, stating that as of Jan. 1, 2023, it shall “be a discriminatory practice for any association, board or other organization the principal purpose of which is furthering the professional or occupational interests of its members, whose profession, trade or occupation requires a state license, to refuse to accept a person as a member of such association, board or organization solely on the basis of that person’s erased criminal history record information.”
The PCC, led by ASAE and the Institute for Credentialing Excellence with support from Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, engaged with Connecticut lawmakers to try to improve the bill before it was signed earlier this summer but the legislature ultimately chose not to alter the fundamental structure of the law.
“For certification programs that are part of membership organizations and for professional societies that relate to licensed occupations, this prohibition [in CT] directly intrudes on their eligibility standards ethics and conduct codes, and disciplinary decisions," said Julia Judish, special counsel for Pillsbury. "Indeed, the law likely violates the constitutional right of private associations and organizations.”
For a detailed look at the Conn. clean slate law and implications for associations and other private organizations that run credentialing programs, click here to read an article written by Judish for Credentialing Insight, the online journal for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE).
This article was provided to OSAP by ASAE's Power of A and Inroads.