Secure Jobs, Secure Communities

Maggie Brown had been steadily employed since she was 17 years old until about 3 years ago. That’s when her employer decided to run a CORI check on all its workers. Maggie, who started out in the company’s call center, had received promotion after promotion. After just 2½ years, she became a temporary supervisor and then landed a position in their corporate office. Clearly, the company recognized Maggie’s skills, experience, and potential, rewarding her with greater responsibility and leadership in the company.

After discovering that she had a CORI – a nonviolent drug offense from nearly 10 years ago – the company immediately instituted a program of intimidation designed to make Maggie quit. Firing her would have allowed Maggie to collect unemployment benefits. Instead, the company demoted Maggie back to the call center floor and decreased her salary accordingly. They changed her work schedule to include Sundays, knowing she was the sole supporter and caretaker of her 3 children. The company also switched her shift from days to nights, knowing full well that Maggie was taking night classes in order to secure a better future for herself and her loved ones. The situation became so stressful that Maggie was forced to leave her job, and for the first time in nearly 20 years she found herself unemployed. Since then, her CORI has proven to be a barrier to finding another job. Maggie has not been able to find work for almost 3 years. Under current Massachusetts law her 1996 CORI is not eligible to be sealed until 2011. Maggie is a leader at the Boston Workers Alliance, an organization fighting to reform CORI laws in Massachusetts.