§ 5-923 — Dissemination and retention of expunged records

(a) Upon entry of an order expunging the juvenile law enforcement record or juvenile court record, or both, the records or files for that offense shall be treated as if it never occurred. Law enforcement officers and other public offices and agencies shall properly reply on inquiry that no record or file exists with respect to the person. A person whose juvenile records have been expunged is not entitled to remission of any fines, costs, or other money paid as a consequence of expungement. (b) Local law enforcement agencies shall send written notice to the minor of the expungement of any juvenile law enforcement records within 60 days of automatic expungement or the date of service of an expungement order, whichever applies. If a minor's court file has been expunged, the clerk of the circuit court shall send written notice to the minor of the expungement of any juvenile court records within 60 days of automatic expungement or the date of service of an expungement order, whichever applies. Notice to minors of the expungement of any juvenile law enforcement records created prior to 2016 may be satisfied by public notice. The names of persons whose records are being expunged shall not be published in this public notice. (c) Except with respect to authorized military personnel, an expunged juvenile law enforcement record or expunged juvenile court record may not be considered by any private or public entity in employment matters, certification, licensing, revocation of certification or licensure, or registration. Applications for employment within the State must contain specific language that states that the applicant is not obligated to disclose expunged juvenile records of adjudication or arrest. Employers may not ask, in any format or context, if an applicant has had a juvenile record expunged. Information about an expunged record obtained by a potential employer, even inadvertently, from an employment application that does not contain specific language that states that the applicant is not obligated to disclose expunged juvenile records of adjudication or arrest, shall be treated as dissemination of an expunged record by the employer. The Department of Labor shall develop a link on the Department's website to inform employers that employers may not ask if an applicant had a juvenile law enforcement or juvenile court record expunged and that application for employment must contain specific language that states that the applicant is not obligated to disclose expunged juvenile records of adjudication, arrest, or conviction. (d) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prohibit the maintenance of information relating to an offense after records or files concerning the offense have been expunged if the information is kept in a manner that does not enable identification of the individual. This information may only be used for anonymous statistical and bona fide research purposes. (d-5) The expungement of juvenile law enforcement or juvenile court records shall not be subject to the record retention provisions of the Local Records Act. (d-10) No evidence of the juvenile law enforcement or juvenile court records may be retained by any law enforcement agency, the juvenile court, or by any municipal, county, or State agency or department unless specifically authorized by this Act. However, non-personal identifying data of a statistical, crime, or trend analysis nature such as the date, time, location of incident, offense type, general demographic information, including gender, race, and ethnicity information, and all other similar information that does not identify a specific individual may be retained. Nothing in this Act shall require the physical destruction of the internal office records, files, or databases maintained by a State's Attorney's Office or other prosecutor, a public defender, a probation officer, or the Office of the Secretary of State. (e) Willful dissemination of any information contained in an expunged record shall be treated as a Class C misdemeanor and punishable by a fine of $1,000 per violation. Willful dissemination for financial gain of any information contained in an expunged record shall be treated as a Class 4 felony. Dissemination for financial gain by an employee of any municipal, county, or State agency, including law enforcement, shall result in immediate termination. The person whose record was expunged has a right of action against any person who intentionally disseminates an expunged record. In the proceeding, punitive damages up to an amount of $1,000 may be sought in addition to any actual damages. The prevailing party shall be entitled to costs and reasonable attorney fees. The punishments for dissemination of an expunged record shall never apply to the person whose record was expunged.

Legislative History

(Source: P.A. 100-1162, eff. 12-20-18.)