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Puerto Rico Senate committees weigh bills to limit employers’ use of criminal records in hiring
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Summary
Senate committees heard testimony May 21, 2021, on two bills (S.144 and S.147) that would prohibit employment discrimination for having a criminal record and limit when and how employers and licensing boards may use criminal-history certificates. Agencies and advocates agreed on the goal of reinsertion but clashed on definitions, statutory conflicts and victim protections.
SAN JUAN — A joint hearing of three Senate committees on May 21, 2021, drew competing views on two bills that would restrict employers’ use of criminal-history records in hiring and in licensing decisions.
Sen. Joan Rodríguez Bebe’s bill, S.144, and the related S.147 (sponsored in the text shown by Henry Newman Sayaz and José Vargas Vidot) seek to make discrimination for having a criminal record a prohibited practice and to narrow when a prospective employer or licensing board may request a certificate of criminal history. Chairing senators set strict time limits and asked agencies to file supplemental memorials answering unresolved legal and operational questions.
The Department of Justice told the committees it does not endorse certain amendments and recommended changes to avoid legal conflicts. "El Departamento de Justicia no avala la enmienda, pues lo propuesto implicaría la ocurrencia de conflictos legales, sustanciales y una situación jurídica anómala," said Elba Cruz Rodríguez, who represented DOJ. DOJ officials warned that granting the Secretary of Labor powers to stop recruitments or to initiate actions against agencies could put the department in a position of litigating against entities it represents, a conflict the department urged the legislature to avoid.
Officials from Corrections and Rehabilitation expressed support for both measures and framed them as important steps toward reintegration. "Por parte del departamento de corrección, nosotros avalamos estos proyectos de ley y todos aquellos que ayuden a nuestra población correccional a reintegrarse a la sociedad," said Francisco Méndez Rivera, describing vocational training programs inside prisons and the department’s certificate-of-rehabilitation process.
The Department of Labor supported the idea of limiting criminal-history inquiries until after a conditional job offer but cautioned that statutory language must not unintentionally override existing rules for public-service employment. Naomi/Anayomi Álamos Rivera said some public positions remain disqualifying under current statutes (for example, those enumerated in the public‑service law) and recommended explicit text to preserve those exceptions.
Advocacy groups split along familiar lines. The Sociedad para Asistencia Legal urged clear, objective criteria to determine when a criminal history is relevant to a specific job, recommending that the only criterion be whether the offense "relates directly to the duties and responsibilities of the position." "Solicitar la información solo luego de que se haga la oferta de empleo es una manera perfecta," the group’s representatives told the committees.
By contrast, Alianza para la Paz Social (A la Paz), which represents victims and survivors, opposed the bills as drafted. Sonia Sierra Rivera said completion of a sentence is not the same as rehabilitation and warned that blanket bans could place victims and witnesses at risk in certain workplaces. "Estas enmiendas propuestas no deben aprobarse," she said, urging an exhaustive evaluation of rehabilitation programs before changing hiring rules.
Nonprofit job-placement groups and OneStop Career Center described long-running reentry programs and cited placement numbers and federal employer incentives. One witness said the organization had placed about 250 participants aged 16–24 in recent years and mentioned a federal fidelity-bond grant program that subsidizes employers.
Senators pressed for specifics: how many people in Puerto Rico have criminal records; what the recidivism statistics are; how many rehabilitation certificates have been issued; who determines that a person is "rehabilitated;" and how to define subjective criteria such as "good reputation." Committee leaders asked the Department of Justice, Corrections and Labor to submit supplemental memorials answering outstanding technical and data questions.
No formal votes were taken. The committees recessed and adjourned the morning session at 11:40 a.m., with senators saying they will continue studying the bills and expect supplemental memorials from agencies to clarify legal conflicts, data and drafting choices.
