An estimated 400,000 people in Delaware face employment barriers for having a criminal record.
Nationally, only 6.5% of eligible individuals receive expungements within the first years of eligibility due to lack of accessibility in the process.
To help combat this issue, JPMorgan Chase is hosting expungement clinics.
This makes the bank the latest Delaware employer to do so; Delaware State University held its first expungement fair last Fall.
In 2021, Delaware passed the Clean Slate Act, which automatically seals criminal records for eligible misdemeanors and felonies. Until that goes into effect in 2024, expungement is the only way to have criminal history sealed.
Executive Director of the JPMorgan Chase Policy Center Nan Gibson says they hope to help over 200 residents at their first Delaware expungement clinic.
“Even when that legislation passes, people still need some type of relief from their records. And so we recognize that we can use our pro-bono attorneys who are on staff to volunteer their time to help people go through the very costly, complex, time-consuming process of trying to get a record cleared,” said Gibson.
Roughly 10% of JPMorgan Chase’s hires last year were individuals with criminal records.
State Senator Darius Brown says expungement benefits individual families and the economy.
“We’ve seen people that would not have applied for a job, that were being denied for housing or education, now having access, now getting approved," explained Brown. "Not only does that help them with their own self sufficiency and self-identity, but also helps the family that they come from in providing for their family and loved ones. And it also strengthens the neighborhood and community in which they reside.”
But not all Delawareans are able to have their records sealed- despite the eligibility of their misdemeanors and felonies.
Delaware’s expungement laws enable — and, in some cases, require — state courts to clear Delaware criminal records, but state law is less clear about how to approach out-of-state criminal records.
The State Supreme Court is preparing to hear a case that questions the Delaware Department of Justice's current contention on this topic.
More information on the case can be found here.
