When a past conviction can block a job or license

(a) A person shall not be disqualified from public office or employment by the State or any of its branches, political subdivisions, or agencies except under section 831-2(c), or be disqualified to practice, pursue, or engage in any occupation, trade, vocation, profession, or business for which a permit, license, registration, or certificate is required by the State or any of its branches, political subdivisions, or agencies, solely by reason of a prior conviction of a crime; provided that: (1) With respect to liquor licenses, a person who has been convicted of a felony may be denied a liquor license by the liquor commission; and (2) A person who within the past ten years, excluding any period of incarceration, has been convicted of a crime that bears a rational relationship to the duties and responsibilities of a job, occupation, trade, vocation, profession, or business may be denied employment, a permit, license, registration, or certificate. Nothing in this subsection shall abrogate any applicable appeal rights under chapters 76 or 89. (b) The State or any of its branches, political subdivisions, or agencies may consider as a justification for the refusal, suspension, or revocation of any employment or of any permit, license, registration, or certificate, any conviction of any crime, except those which have been expunged, occurring within the past ten years, excluding any period of incarceration, when that crime bears a rational relationship to the duties and responsibilities of the job, occupation, trade, vocation, profession, or business for which a permit, license, registration, or certificate is applied for or held. (c) The State or any of its branches, political subdivisions, or agencies may consider as a possible justification for the refusal, suspension, or revocation of any employment or of any permit, license, registration, or certificate, any conviction of a crime, not occurring within the past ten years, excluding any period of incarceration, except those which have been expunged, when the offense directly relates to: (1) The applicant's possible performance in the job applied for; (2) The employee's possible performance in the job that the employee holds; or (3) The applicant's or holder's possible performance in the occupation, trade, vocation, profession, or business for which a permit, license, registration, or certificate is applied for or held. For the purpose of this subsection, such refusal, suspension, or revocation may occur only when the agency determines, after investigation in accordance with chapter 91, or in the case of employment in the civil service, after appropriate investigation, notification of results and planned action, and opportunity to meet and rebut the finding, all of which need not be conducted in accordance with chapter 91, that the person so convicted has not been sufficiently rehabilitated to warrant the public trust. (d) When considering noncriminal standards in the granting, renewal, suspension, or revocation of any employment or any such permit, license, registration, or certificate, the State or any of its branches, political subdivisions, or agencies shall not take into consideration the conviction of any crime except as provided by subsections (b) and (c). (e) A person who applies for a position in the civil service and is denied employment in that position on the basis of a criminal conviction pursuant to this section, may appeal the adverse decision to the civil service commission or merit appeals board, as appropriate, within twenty days after the notice of action has been sent to the person. (f) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, this section shall not apply to: (1) Denials by the department of human services, the department of health, or any other branch, political subdivision, or agency of any certificate of approval, license, or permit to any organization, institution, home, or facility subject to licensure under chapters 321, 333F, and 346; (2) Denials of employment as a staff member of a youth correctional facility operated under chapter 352; (3) Denials of employment as an employee of a detention or shelter facility established or designated pursuant to section 571-33; (4) Denials of employment as a staff member of a correctional facility pursuant to chapter 353, or as a staff member that requires the exercise of police powers, including the power to arrest, in the performance of the staff member's duties pursuant to chapter 353C; (5) Denials of employment of applicants or employees pursuant to section 78-2.7; (6) Denials or termination of employment as an employee, employee applicant, or employee or agent of a contractor of the department of taxation with access to federal tax information pursuant to section 231-1.6; (7) Denials or termination of employment as an employee, employee applicant, or employee or agent of a contractor of the department of human services with access to federal tax information pursuant to section 346-2.5; (8) Denials or termination of employment as an employee, employee applicant, or employee or agent of a contractor of the department of labor and industrial relations with access to federal tax information pursuant to section 383-110; and (9) Denials or termination of employment as an employee, employee applicant, or employee or agent of a contractor of the child support enforcement agency with access to federal tax information pursuant to section 576D-11.5.