Marlin Bressi, a writer in Yahoo’s Contributor Network, makes the case that states with strict expungement laws tend to have higher unemployment rates.
“After a thorough examination of the expungement laws of all fifty states, one can see a clear pattern which shows that states with the most stringent expungement laws have the highest rates of unemployment, while states with lenient expungement laws tend to have lowest unemployment rates,” writes Bressi.
Bressi continues, “Generally speaking, states with high rates of unemployment do not allow misdemeanors to be sealed, even if it’s a low-grade misdemeanor. Michigan (with an unemployment rate of 11.1%) is one such example, along with South Carolina (11%), Florida (10.6%), Mississippi (10.6%), North Carolina (10.5%), and Georgia (10.3%). Of the 10 states with the highest unemployment, only four offer some sort of expungement for those convicted of misdemeanors, and in states like Illinois and Georgia, expungement of misdemeanors is limited only to first-time offenders and juvenile offenders. In other words, if you slap your wife in Florida or punch out someone in a bar in Michigan, you may never work again. ”
Bressi does not explain how some states with very restrictive expungement laws such as Texas and Virginia have below average unemployment rates, especially for states of more than 7 million people. Nor does he explain how Nevada, who has an effective and generous expungement has the nation’s highest unemployment. It would also be interesting to see if there is a change in unemployment rates after a state makes expungement more widely available.
You can read the complete article at http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9154755/the_link_between_unemployment_and_expungement_pg2.html?cat=17
Written by Mathew Higbee, Esq
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i have several records i would like to have expunged for empLOYEEMENT PURPOSES. CAN YOU HELP? I DID NOT KILL ANYONE OR ROBBED, OR ANY THING OF THAT NATURE. DUI’S ARE MY PRIMARY CHARGES THAT ARE PREVENTING ME FROM OBTAINING EMPLOYMENT.
I AM SEEKING HELP. I AM AUNIVERSITY GRADUATE WITH THREE DEGREES. I TAUGHT EIGHT YEARS IN ALABAMA. I’m simply trying to get another chance at gainful employment without tis hanging over my head.
How do I get my DUI’s expunged ? Can somebody help?
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