Can't Get A Job Because Of A Criminal Record? A Lawsuit Is Trying To Change That

Outside an apartment building on Broad Street, along the county line in Philadelphia, birds outnumber the rush-hour traffic.

"It's nice and quiet compared to other neighborhoods which I lived in," said Tyrone Peake, 52.

In 1981, when he was just 18, Peake was arrested with a friend for trying to steal a car to take a girl home after a long weekend.

"No, we never got the car," Peake said. "We broke the ignition column and then the cops came."

Peake couldn't even drive back then. He says he was just along for the ride. He never went to prison. Instead, he got probation. But that single charge years ago still haunts him, sometimes even after he's gotten work.

One in four Americans has a criminal record that will show up on a routine background check. Those black marks can slam the door to employment in fast-growing sectors of the economy — even if the convictions are for minor offenses and decades old.

A new lawsuit in Pennsylvania is trying to change that.

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