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About The Bill

Kentucky’s House Bill 497 (HB497) is intended to help formerly incarcerated residents find jobs and protect employers who hire these individuals. It notes that once a person is released from prison, they may opt to receive the following:

• Records for major disciplinary violations.
• Documentation that shows if they successfully completed programming approved by the department.
• Documentation that shows if the person earned a high school equivalency diploma or other educational degrees while incarcerated.
• The individual’s work record prior to incarceration, including past employment and skills, to the extent known or verifiable by the department.
• The person’s institutional work record, including skills obtained through job training or programming provided by the department.
• Any other relevant information.

Upon release, individuals may be eligible to receive a personal identification card and certification of employability if they earned one or more of the following while incarcerated:

• An educational credit pursuant to KRS 197.045(1)(a)2.
• A program completion credit pursuant to KRS 197.045(1)(a)3.
• A work-for-time credit pursuant to KRS 197.047.

People may also be able to receive these items if, prior to incarceration, they earned a High School diploma (or the equivalent), a college degree, certification of completion from a vocational or technical education program or a diploma/degree from a correspondence postsecondary education program which is approved by the department.

HB497 was signed by Governor Andy Beshear and goes into effect in July 2021. Read the bill.

Exclusions

To be eligible for a certificate of employability, the person must not have had major disciplinary violations during the year preceding their release. There are some scenarios in which this bill does “not create relief”, including:

• If a person is required to register as a sexual offender.
• If a person has a commercial driver’s license or probationary license that is suspended or canceled.
• Positions such as prosecutors or law enforcement officers.

Certificates can be revoked if the recipient later incurs a felony conviction.

Takeaway For Employers

Employers in Kentucky should be aware of HB497 and that people who apply for positions may have a Certificate of Employment for them to consider. If an employer knowingly hires someone who has a certificate, that will be a defense for them if they are accused of negligent hiring, unless they knew the person should not be hired due to the nature of their criminal history.

Organizations are not required to hire an applicant just because they have a certificate. They also have the option to verify a certificate’s authenticity through the Department of Correction. When hiring, all employers are encouraged to run comprehensive background checks on candidates.

The Importance Of Screening

Employers order background reports to get the data they need to make informed decisions and demonstrate due diligence. These reports help hiring managers determine if an applicant is truly eligible and qualified or if they might pose an undue risk due to a serious criminal history.

When you’re ready to screen applicants, employees, volunteers or contractors, please contact us. Our experienced team in based in the United States and prepared to assist you Monday through Friday from 5am to 6pm PT.