Minnesota Statutes 181.981 – Employment of Individual With Criminal History; Limitation On Admissibility of Evidence
Subdivision 1.Limitation on admissibility of criminal history.
Information regarding a criminal history record of an employee or former employee may not be introduced as evidence in a civil action against a private employer or its employees or agents that is based on the conduct of the employee or former employee, if:
Terms Used In Minnesota Statutes 181.981
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
(1) the duties of the position of employment did not expose others to a greater degree of risk than that created by the employee or former employee interacting with the public outside of the duties of the position or that might be created by being employed in general;
(2) before the occurrence of the act giving rise to the civil action:
(i) a court order sealed any record of the criminal case;
(ii) any record of the criminal case was sealed as the result of an automatic expungement, including but not limited to a grant of expungement made pursuant to section 609A.015; or
(iii) the employee or former employee received a pardon;
(3) the record is of an arrest or charge that did not result in a criminal conviction; or
(4) the action is based solely upon the employer’s compliance with section 364.021.
Subd. 2.Relation to other law.
This section does not supersede a statutory requirement to conduct a criminal history background investigation or consider criminal history records in hiring for particular types of employment.