What does this mean from a background screening perspective?

There are two key details to make note of:

The first major change is that the New York Office of Court Administration (OCA) fees have increased pretty dramatically. The fees for running a New York OCA criminal record search (a.k.a. a statewide search) will increase from $65 to $95.

Any organizations performing this search in New York should account for this rather sizable increase to search fees and adjust accordingly. We wanted to help make sure that our clients were made aware of this impending change as soon as possible. As outlined in the legislation, the intent behind raising the fee is to help increase contributions into the state’s indigent legal services fund. The entirety of the additional $30 will be put towards this defense fund.

The second change is that undisposed cases will no longer be included in criminal history record searches through the NY OCA. Undisposed cases are cases where criminal charges against an individual occurred, but there is no record of a conviction, imposition of any sentence or penalty, or unexecuted warrant of arrest (see full definition here). However, this new provision dealing with unresolved cases will not be implemented for another year.

If you perform background checks in New York and have any questions about how these new changes might affect your current situation, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Give us a call at 888-919-8378 or email us at backgrounds@blueline-services.com.

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