Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network, Inc. will host a webinar for PLAN program staff entitled Sealing the Record on March 24, 2016 from 2:00 pm-3:00 pm. The webinar will be presented by Sharon Dietrich and Jamie Gullen of Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. 

The webinar will discuss two important recent changes improving employment prospects for Pennsylvanians having certain types of criminal records:

1. On December 30, 2015, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania unanimously declared unconstitutional a state statute that unfairly shut out scores of people from employment in the long-term health care field and deprived elderly, sick and disabled people of caregivers.
   
   The court enjoined Pennsylvania from enforcing provisions of the Older Adults Protective Services Act that contain lifetime employment bans preventing people with criminal records from holding any job at a residential care facility and providing no opportunity for job applicants to demonstrate that they presented little risk to vulnerable individuals. CLS was part of the litigation team that brought this case.
    
2. On February 16, Governor Wolf signed Act 5 into law. For the first time, as of November 14, 2016, some misdemeanor convictions can be sealed.  A sealed record will only be available to law enforcement.  It will NOT be available to employers or the public.
   
   ​Clients need advice on the impact of this new law now, even though it will not be effective until November.

The webinar will be presented using Go To Webinar. You can attend this event in any of the following ways:

1. On a PC:

• Internet Explorer 9, Mozilla Firefox 34, Google Chrome 39 (JavaScript enabled) or the latest version of each web browser
• Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 or later
• Cable modem, DSL or better Internet connection (1 Mbps or faster)
• Dual-core 2.4GHz CPU or faster with 2GB or more of RAM
• Participants wishing to connect to audio using VoIP a microphone and speakers. (A USB headset is recommended.) You may also connect to audio by telephone.

2. On a Mac:

• Safari 6, Firefox 34, Google Chrome 39 (JavaScript enabled) or the latest version of each web browser
• Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or newer
• Cable modem, DSL or better Internet connection (1 Mbps or faster)
• Intel processor (2GB of RAM or better)
• Participants wishing to connect to audio using VoIP a microphone and speakers. (A USB headset is recommended.) You may also connect to audio by telephone.

3. On an iPad, iPhone, Android or Windows mobile device:

• Free GoToWebinar app from the App Store, Google Play or Windows Store
• WiFi connection recommended for VoIP audio

Register for the Webinar