Overview
Developed by the Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative (CJEI), the Criminal Record Online Toolkit is designed to help the over two million New Yorkers with a criminal record navigate the overwhelming and complex criminal justice system. The online toolkit provides accessible, easy-to-understand resources that explain how to access and interpret justice-related information.
Part of a larger effort to remove barriers posed by a criminal record, with the goal of increasing employment of justice-impacted people, the revised toolkit includes recent changes in federal, state and local legislation and administrative processes. It provides comprehensive, up-to-date information on New York and neighboring states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, recognizing that people may travel to and seek work outside New York. The toolkit now includes expanded resources on civil rights restoration and sentence commutations. It also includes sample forms that demonstrate how to complete key legal documents.
Key Toolkit Sections
- About Your Record: Explains records of arrests and prosecutions (“RAP sheets”) and how to request one from government agencies.
- Fix Your Record: Covers each state’s distinct process for correcting an individual’s criminal record. Individuals may also be eligible to petition for a record to be sealed or expunged, which restricts the public and many employers from accessing it.
- Legal Rights: Provides primers on rights bestowed by federal laws, such as the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, and state and local statutes, such as Clean Slate laws and Ban the Box.
Next Steps
- Regularly update the toolkit information to ensure the resources remain up to date.
- Build on the toolkit’s reach by continuing to share the resource with organizations that work with justice-impacted individuals.
Research Impact
The toolkit is part of broader CJEI efforts to advance employment opportunities for people with criminal records by working with employers, job seekers, reentry organizations, corrections officials and government officials. So far, the toolkit has had over 21,000 views across the site, providing users with the resources and information they need to navigate their criminal record.
Employment is important to reducing recidivism, but a criminal record – or mistakes in one – can pose a significant barrier for a job seeker. The toolkit will continue to reduce barriers for individuals with a criminal record seeking employment.
AUTHORS:
Esta Bigler, Labor and Employment Law Program director; Caroline Scharf ’26; Jason Hoge, Esq.
CONTACT:
Matt Saleh
Senior Associate Director
mcs378@cornell.edu
The Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative improves employment opportunities for people with criminal records by designing and delivering legal employment training to close information gaps, implement best practices and integrate job seekers with criminal records into the workforce.