New Mexico 2nd state to ban public sector from asking about criminal convictions on job app

NM job seekers don’t have to disclose crime record

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New Mexico became the second state to “ban the box” with Gov. Bill Richardson’s signature on a law prohibiting employment applications for government agencies from asking job seekers if they’d been convicted of a crime.

The measure was signed Monday and covers job applications for state, county or local government but not private business.

The legislation doesn’t prohibit employers from asking the question once they’re face-to-face with applicants and doesn’t stop them from doing background checks.

It passed the New Mexico Senate 35-4 and the House 54-14.

The National Conference of State Legislatures and the National Employment Law Project say Minnesota passed similar legislation in 2009, becoming the first state to outlaw the conviction question.