Criminal Justice

NYC comptroller says old criminal convictions cost city residents nearly $2.4 billion in annual wages

The Legislature only has a few more days left to pass the Clean Slate Act, which would seal old criminal convictions.

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander

New York City Comptroller Brad Lander Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

With just a few weeks left before the end of a session, it still remains unclear if the Clean Slate Act, which would expunge old misdemeanor and felony convictions, will make it past the legislative finish line this year. Meanwhile, a new report by New York City Comptroller Brad Lander – shared exclusively with City & State – found city residents are missing out on billions of dollars in wages without passage of the bill.

“Passing the Clean Slate Act would close the employment gap for New York City’s communities of color and half a million New Yorkers would in turn contribute to the economic landscape of our city,” Lander wrote in a statement. “Gaining employment is a proven way to stop the revolving door of our carceral system and move towards a system of true justice and economic freedom.”

The report from the comptroller’s office estimates that more than 500,000 New York City residents with past felony or misdemeanor convictions would be eligible to have their criminal records sealed under Clean Slate. Nearly 80 percent of those individuals are Black or Latinx, and more than 400,000 of them are of “working age.” The report then cites research showing that people with criminal convictions earn on average $5,000 to $6,000 less per year to conclude that old criminal convictions that would be sealed by the Clean Slate bill are responsible for a total of nearly $2.4 billion in lost wages.  

In an interview with City & State, the bill’s sponsor, Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, said the comptroller’s report underscored what supporters of the bill have long argued. “New Yorkers who have a criminal record and could benefit from Clean Slate are missing out on money that's important for their family, important for their survival and important for the economy of the state,” Cruz said.

State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who is sponsoring the Senate version of the bill, said the comptroller’s report confirmed the bill is about economic well-being, in addition to fairness and justice. “Formerly incarcerated New Yorkers should have a fair chance to secure a job, housing and education after they've served their time. Clean Slate will stabilize our communities, reduce recidivism and grow our economy," he said.

Criminal justice advocates also celebrated the findings in the report. "As the Comptroller's report demonstrates, the Clean Slate Act is an urgent issue of economic justice, opportunity, and development," said Katie Schaffer, director of advocacy and organizing at the Center for Community Alternatives.

The bill would seal the criminal records of many people convicted of certain felonies or misdemeanors (excluding sexual offenses) once they became eligible. If passed, this would apply to formerly incarcerated individuals three years after the imposed sentencing for misdemeanor crimes and seven years for felonies – presuming the individuals refrain from committing additional crimes. The bill has gained popularity since it was first introduced in 2020, though it has never passed both chambers. The current version of the bill has 27 co-sponsors in the state Senate and more than 60 co-sponsors in the Assembly.

Last year, there was optimism for the bill’s passage after Gov. Kathy Hochul mentioned it in her State of the State address. The state Senate went on to pass the bill, but it failed to make progress in the Assembly. This session, the bill’s sponsors made notable changes to the bill which allow certain entities, including some levels of law enforcement and the state Education Department, to have access to a person's sealed criminal records in hopes of getting it passed. Labor unions – such as the influential 32BJ and Hotel and Gaming Trades Council – made a big push for Clean Slate in an open letter sent to state legislative leaders in March. The New York State Business Council has also signaled support for the bill, as have major corporations like Microsoft, Verizon and JP Morgan Chase.  

The bill has not yet passed either chamber this session, though legislative leaders have said they hope to pass it. While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins indicated the Democratic conference is looking to pass the bill in the Senate this year. And Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie also gave the bill a nod earlier this month. “We will definitely consider Clean Slate before the end of session… It helps public safety. It helps deal with the issues of a workforce,” Heastie said.

When asked whether or not there is still a chance for the bill to get passed before the end of session, with just a few weeks left, Cruz said she is working with the governor and legislative leaders to ensure their commitment to move the bill forward. 

“Three days in Albany could be a month in the real world. So we have less than three weeks of session left – and that's a long time,” the Assembly member said.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.