Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate Act, House Bill 1419,became law late last year with a near unanimous vote. On Friday, courts beganfulfilling Clean Slate’s automatic sealing provision.The courts have until June 2020 to seal 30 million criminal court records that automatically qualify. After that, people with marginal cases can petition to have their records sealed or expunged.

There’s been growing pressure for a Clean Slate provision, driven mainly by record-low unemployment. It turns out that when the jobless rate is hovering around 3.2 percent, employers become much less picky about their job candidates than when the rate is 7 percent or higher. They’re especially more forgiving about the applicants’ past sins. When workers are desperately needed, they do not necessarily have to be saints.

This influx of grace is good news for the nearly 3 million Pennsylvanians who have a criminal record that, until now, has blockedtheir employment prospects. For many of the 3 million, the offenses were minor and nonviolent and happened several years ago, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Somewere arrested and never convicted but the arrest remains on their record.

Previously,Pennsylvanians with convictions had to file a motion to have an eligible offense expunged or sealed.HB1419streamlines the process by making the sealing of the record automatic and at no cost without having to file a petition or court order.Charges not resulting in convictions after 60 days and misdemeanor convictions (except for violent and sex offenses) would be automatically sealed after 10 years, as long there have been no subsequent convictions. Sealed records would still be accessible to law enforcement but not to the public.

But here’s an interesting thought: It might be better for a prospective employer to know the applicant’s past, and it might be best for the employer to learn about it from the applicant.

Consider the reality these days is that background checks have become the norm — the ACLU estimates 87 percent of employersconductbackground checkson some or all job candidates; 80percent of landlordsand two-thirds of collegesrunbackgroundchecks. Offenses sealed under HB1419 do not need to be reported to employers.They may not be used to deny state occupational licenses. But a job applicant will need to explain gaps in employment history that any resume or job application might reveal. Before Clean Slate, the applicant had two options: tell the truth or a lie; now there’s a third option: politely say: “none of your business,” and state law backs up the applicant. The background check won’t reveal any secrets.

Only thing is, employers still have the right to say: “That’s not good enough.”

Then again, the state jobless rate in May was 3.8 percent; in Butler County it was an astonishing 3.1 percent. Such numbers compel many employers to agree that what an applicant did a decade ago is indeed none of their business.