Jobs for Felons in Rhode Island

Rhode Island's ban-the-box law covers private employers with 4 or more employees, plus the State and cities and towns. An employer cannot ask on the application, or out loud, whether you have ever been arrested, charged or convicted. It can ask about convictions at the first interview or later.

Exceptions: law enforcement jobs; jobs where a federal or state law disqualifies people with certain convictions (the employer can ask only about those offenses); and jobs that need a fidelity bond the conviction would block.

Under federal law, a background check company can report a conviction no matter how old it is. Arrests that did not lead to a conviction generally drop off after seven years (the limit does not apply to jobs paying $75,000 a year or more). We found no Rhode Island law that shortens that for convictions. Expungement is what removes a conviction from public court records.

If you have only one conviction, you can move to expunge a misdemeanor 5 years after finishing the sentence, or a felony 10 years after, as long as it was not a crime of violence and your court fines and fees are paid (or waived by the court). A deferred sentence can be expunged once it is completed.

Since June 22, 2026, if you have 2 to 4 felonies and none is a crime of violence or another listed offense (such as certain weapons, child abuse, trafficking, or DUI resulting in death), you can move to expunge them 15 years after your last sentence, with no arrests or convictions in those 15 years. You can use this path once.

Two to five misdemeanors: you can move to expunge them 10 years after your last sentence, with no arrests or convictions in those 10 years. A past felony no longer blocks this unless it was a crime of violence or another listed offense. DUI and domestic violence misdemeanors are excluded.

Every expungement is up to the judge after a hearing. You have to show good character and that you have been rehabilitated, and the judge can look at your job history and community ties. Show up with proof: pay stubs, letters, certificates.

On a job application, you can say you have never been convicted of the expunged crime. The exceptions: law enforcement jobs, admission to the bar, teaching and coaching certificates, and early childhood education jobs, where you must disclose it.

A Rhode Island state license cannot be denied, suspended or revoked, even partly, because of a conviction unless the crime substantially relates to the job. The board must also weigh the state's interest in equal access to jobs for people with records.