Relating to the eligibility of certain victims of trafficking of persons or compelling prostitution for an order of nondisclosure of criminal history record information.

Contracts

• Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs): You must audit Master Service Agreements (MSAs) with background check vendors. Insert clauses requiring the vendor to verify records directly at the county source or via real-time DPS access rather than relying on bulk database purchases, which often retain sealed records ("stale data") for months.
• Indemnification: Ensure vendors indemnify your organization against liability for reporting records that have been subject to a nondisclosure order.

Hiring/Training

• Application Language: Review all employment applications. Questions regarding criminal history must explicitly state: *"Do not disclose information regarding criminal offenses that have been expunged or sealed by an order of nondisclosure."*
• Adjudication Grids: HR teams must be retrained. If your matrix automatically disqualifies candidates for misdemeanor theft or drug possession, be aware that the volume of these "hits" may decrease.
• Privacy Training: Managers must be trained that if an employee voluntarily discloses a sealed past offense, that information is strictly confidential and cannot be used for termination or adverse action.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

• Internal Database Purging: If your organization maintains an internal "Do Not Hire" or "Ineligible for Rehire" list based on prior background checks, you must implement a protocol to scrub this data. Relying on an internal record of a 2023 theft conviction to deny employment in 2026—after that record has been sealed—creates liability exposure.

Fees & Costs

• No Direct Fees: There are no new government fees levied on employers.
• Operational Costs: Anticipate minor legal costs for revising vendor contracts and potential increases in background check fees if you mandate "real-time" county searches to ensure data accuracy.