Pennsylvania’s Occupational Licensing Reform Law (Act 53 of 2020) was signed into law in 2020 with the goal of opening licensed professions to people with old and unrelated criminal convictions, helping both Pennsylvania families and businesses. This law has potentially been undermined by the state occupational boards’ overbroad proposed lists of what offenses are “directly…
Many people in Pennsylvania have trained for a career, or have thought about pursuing a new profession, only to be stopped by unfair rules that prevent people from getting licensed because of an unrelated criminal record. Starting in 2021, if you are applying for most types of job licenses or certifications in Pennsylvania and you…
Thousands of Pennsylvanians face legal barriers to occupational licenses based on their criminal records. With over two dozen professions requiring a license by the state, many people who are otherwise fully qualified to work in a licensed occupation nevertheless face possible denial of the license due to a conviction – often, for a crime which…
