DUI and Background Check

[Suspect Chin]

I had a DUI (it was technically an OWI, but apparently the acronym is a state by state thing and doesn't really make a difference) almost 8 years ago and I'm currently in the job market for an engineering position with a company that I know will run a background check. I plan to be honest on the application so lets assume the company will end up finding out about the arrest and conviction. I already had the interview and it went very well so I am pretty confident I will get a job offer (barring disqualification for the DUI). I have a few questions for the board:

1. Will my potential new manager find out about it or is it something HR only decides on?

2. Has anyone been in this situation and either not been hired because of the DUI or been hired anyway?

Any other advice will be helpful especially from those with HR experience.

I was originally charged with Possession of Fake ID (I was 19), OWI Misdemeanor Class A, and OWI with BAC of Greater Than .15% (I was hammered). With my lawyer's help, I ended up pleading guilty to the class C misdemeanor and the other charges were dismissed.

[A.J.]

After 8 years, it shouldn't be a big deal.

[Kevin]

After 8 years, it shouldn't be a big deal.



Yea, i was about to say the same.

As long as your credit is good with nothing in collection, and you have a clean record since, you should be fine.

[dino_electropolis]

Generally, employers only ask for convictions of crimes (meaning not a misdemeanor). As such, you could reply no to a question regarding any prior convictions.

If they do a background check, they will usually only be accessing the state's criminal records, and DUI's (which are quasi criminal) wouldnt be included. If the position you're applying for requires alot of driving, then they would request your driver's abstract from the state division of motor vehicles.

Finally, they shouldnt ask about arrests, because there is no finding of guilt, and realistically, anyone can get anyone arrested for anything.

You could probably get the arrest record of your priors expunged from the state criminal records, but DUI's are permanantly on your driver's abstract.

Good luck.

[Suspect Chin]

Generally, employers only ask for convictions of crimes (meaning not a misdemeanor). As such, you could reply no to a question regarding any prior convictions.

If they do a background check, they will usually only be accessing the state's criminal records, and DUI's (which are quasi criminal) wouldnt be included. If the position you're applying for requires alot of driving, then they would request your driver's abstract from the state division of motor vehicles.

Finally, they shouldnt ask about arrests, because there is no finding of guilt, and realistically, anyone can get anyone arrested for anything.

You could probably get the arrest record of your priors expunged from the state criminal records, but DUI's are permanantly on your driver's abstract.

Good luck.

I did a background check on myself from one of the million websites and it came back clean, but I did a State Police check on the state's website where it happened, and it showed up along with all the other charges that were ultimately dropped. Not knowing which kind of check the company will do, I am afraid to lie because I know for sure that I will either not get the job or be fired immediately if they find out that I lied.

Here is the specific wording of the application:

Have you ever been convicted of or pled guilty to a felony or misdemeanor other than a minor traffic related infraction? (A conviction or plea will not necessarily disqualify you from consideration for employment. The effect of a conviction will be assessed with respect to time, circumstances, seriousness of the offense, and job responsibilities and duties. However, your failure to list a conviction will disqualify you from consideration for employment or will result in termination of employment if subsequently discovered. Convictions for which the record has been sealed, expunged, or statutorily eradicated need not be disclosed if applicable state law (including California law) prohibits inquiries about such convictions. California applicants need not disclose misdemeanor convictions for which probation was completed and the case was dismissed.)

It seems like they have covered all of their bases for all convictions.

[9mileskid]

lie anyway!its none of there business what you do outside the office.when did it become anyones business what you do on your own time.this country is fucked

[Kevin]

lie anyway!its none of there business what you do outside the office.when did it become anyones business what you do on your own time.this country is fucked



Thats just silly.

Of course companies need to care about what their employees do.

I'm not talking about private shit. But criminal shit is a must.

You need to know if you're employee is trustworthy and in good charecter.

[Suspect Chin]

Just a follow up in case anyone cares:

I was honest on the application and with HR. They ran the background check and found out about everything. They were only concerned with the past 7 years and since it was 8 years ago, they didn't care at all. They offered me the job and life is good. The HR lady told me specifically that if I had not listed it and they found it, that I would have been disqualified immediately.

[KingModem]

Nice. Now you can get back to operating a soldering iron at three times the legal limit.

[spoon]

Just a follow up in case anyone cares:

I was honest on the application and with HR. They ran the background check and found out about everything. They were only concerned with the past 7 years and since it was 8 years ago, they didn't care at all. They offered me the job and life is good. The HR lady told me specifically that if I had not listed it and they found it, that I would have been disqualified immediately.

Got to this late, but being that you were 19 has to help as well. You were a fucking kid, so I would have given you the advice to be upfront and honest. You had good feelings on getting hired, so all you had to do was be ready to address the events and where you were at the time in your life. Sounds like you handled it well and congrats you dirty filthy creep!

[K.C.]

Just a follow up in case anyone cares:

I was honest on the application and with HR. They ran the background check and found out about everything. They were only concerned with the past 7 years and since it was 8 years ago, they didn't care at all. They offered me the job and life is good. The HR lady told me specifically that if I had not listed it and they found it, that I would have been disqualified immediately.


Honestly, unless it's a job that involves driving for the company (insurance issue), or a person has multiples, it's pretty much a non-issue.

The number of DUIs being handed out these days are ridiculous, and it's only going to go up. With every state raising fines and supplementary fees, it's an easy way to extort money because it's almost an impossible thing to lobby against.

A DUI may make a difference a little more now because it's so competitive in the job market, any little thing may tip something towards another applicant since employers basically have their pick of over-qualified candidates in a lot of situations, but for the most part, it just doesn't really matter.

[A.J.]

Cool. Glad things worked out for you!

[CYYYFYYY]

Congrats!

[KC2OSO]

Congrats! Good luck on your new job. If the soldering iron starts to fall off the table, don't grab for it. :wink:

I've been on a job search now for four months. Finally received an offer and then another offer yesterday. Now I have two jobs. Things were looking pretty sketchy there for a while. Oy.

[Suspect Chin]

Congrats! Good luck on your new job. If the soldering iron starts to fall off the table, don't grab for it. :wink:

I've been on a job search now for four months. Finally received an offer and then another offer yesterday. Now I have two jobs. Things were looking pretty sketchy there for a while. Oy.

Yeah I'm actually in the same boat. The first job needs to know by Tuesday and the second job (the one I really want) knows I have the first offer and they are trying to get an offer to me before then. An odd situation to be in, but I'm not complaining.

[KC2OSO]

Yeah I'm actually in the same boat. The first job needs to know by Tuesday and the second job (the one I really want) knows I have the first offer and they are trying to get an offer to me before then. An odd situation to be in, but I'm not complaining.
Good problem to have. Pretty much same here. The day I got the first offer we went out to the hibachi grill. Woo. Volcano onion and lobster tails!

It's such a strange job landscape out there these days. Competitive as hell. Several folks in my town have been out for 6 months or more and are getting set to sell and move out of state. Mostly financial guys.

It's weird. On two different interviews I was given a business case and asked to formulate an answer to the problem in an hour, put it together in a powerpoint and present to a room of fucking people. Brutal.

One thing that did help was that I finally broke down and got a career coach. She helped with the resume and was a good confidence builder. The other thing I did was take a temp job at a company through Kelly. The pay was shit but at least I wasn't bouncing around the house waiting for the phone to ring.

The bills keep coming whether you're working or not. :laugh:

[Suspect Chin]

Good problem to have. Pretty much same here. The day I got the first offer we went out to the hibachi grill. Woo. Volcano onion and lobster tails!

It's such a strange job landscape out there these days. Competitive as hell. Several folks in my town have been out for 6 months or more and are getting set to sell and move out of state. Mostly financial guys.

It's weird. On two different interviews I was given a business case and asked to formulate an answer to the problem in an hour, put it together in a powerpoint and present to a room of fucking people. Brutal.

One thing that did help was that I finally broke down and got a career coach. She helped with the resume and was a good confidence builder. The other thing I did was take a temp job at a company through Kelly. The pay was shit but at least I wasn't bouncing around the house waiting for the phone to ring.

The bills keep coming whether you're working or not. :laugh:

How are you handling the two offers? Does either company know that you have an offer from the other? Are you using the two offers against each other to negotiate salary?

[KC2OSO]

How are you handling the two offers? Does either company know that you have an offer from the other? Are you using the two offers against each other to negotiate salary?
Both are close enough on salary that I didn't want to play that game too much although I did insist on coming close to my rate with both companies independently. Neither knows about the other at this point.

The job market is too unstable and flooded with guys like me right now and I don't want to mess this up. Four months on the dole humbles a fella. I've never been out of work this long.

Is your job full time or contract? I'm a contractor so it's a bit different than salaried/exempt full time stuff. Both jobs are 6 month contract to perm. I do well, they hire me full time.

The other thing at play is that one company is a 1.5 hour commute one way and the other(the one I'm probably going to go with) is 45 minutes from home. Getting to spend time with my kids is a big thing.

What do you do BTW? I'm an IT project manager of sorts.

[Suspect Chin]

I'm a Biomedical Development Engineer. I have two job offers right now and of course the place I want to work is the lesser of the two. I am currently employed in a good job but it is to far from my girlfriend and family and I'm really not into it anymore. I'm thinking about asking the company I want to work for if they'll match the higher offer, but I don't want to scare them away. Everything I read online says that they expect you to negotiate, so they build that into the actual dollar amount they have allotted in their heads. I think I'm just going to be honest with the company I want to work for, explain the situation, and go for it.

[KC2OSO]

Being so specialized in your occupation, you definitely have some traction in a negotiation.

Are you going through an agency or negotiating directly with the companies?

I guess it is similar to my situation in that quality of life is in play. If the differential in pay is great enough to fight for, then I'd say go for trying to leverage one against the other for higher pay. As you said, they expect some haggling.