President Joe Biden’s much-ballyhooed move to pardon people charged with federal offenses for simple marijuana possession could mean renewed hopes for thousands of people with these convictions who may have been denied employment opportunities.
The White House said the pardons could impact more than 6,500 people, but the Oct. 6 executive action doesn’t directly impact or change federal or state employment laws. Employers can use background checks in a nondiscriminatory way to screen applicants under federal law—one way an applicant’s past conviction could crop up. Biden also encouraged state-level offenses to be pardoned, putting the onus on governors to do so, and asked the administration to consider how marijuana is “scheduled under federal law.” Currently, it’s classified at the same level as heroin, according to a White House statement.
“It was a very small number of people, but there may be some small, direct impacts,” particularly when it comes to highly regulated work, or perhaps roles with security clearances, said Nancy Delogu, a shareholder with Littler Mendelson P.C. “This will help them get work, obviously.”
From a worker’s perspective, it will be as if the conviction never happened, Delogu said. So for workers applying for positions in states where employers can ask about an applicant’s arrest and conviction records, there will be nothing to disclose.
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