Dui

[perseus1206]

I was convicted of a DUI in PA on Sept. 25 2000. I received ARD and a one year probation with fines. I'm currently working for a company that is about to downsize(Economy) at anytime now. I been searching for work and have been selected for interviews. My questions are:

1) Should I state on the employment that I was convicted of a DUI?
2) If the employer does a background check and sees that I had a DUI, can they reject me because I did not mention it? And if I did can they also say they do not hire convicts.
3) I'm on unsupervised probation at the time, will this stop me from looking for another job? Should I wait until I get the expungement(Six more months left).

The company also has a Drug/Alcohol program.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated at this time

 

[Beth3]

1. If you are asked on an application form (or in an interview) whether you have ever been convicted of a crime, yes, you should put down your DUI. Lying on an application form or omitting information can lead to more problems than acknowledging the conviction will. Employers will terminate an employee or not hire somebody for falsifying information, even if the false information would not have caused a problem in the first place.

2. Yes, if you fail to provide the information if requested and they run a background check, an employer can and likely will reject you. Whether the employer will reject you solely on the basis of your DUI is an unknown. It depends upon your State's laws (some prohibit discrimination on the basis of criminal conviction unless it is substantially related to the job), whether the DUI is germaine to the position you're applying for (a truck driver, for instance), and to some extent what the company's policy is. Having a policy that bars all candidates if they have ever been convicted of a crime is not unlawful per se at the federal level but can lead to significant problems with the EEOC.

3. Being on probation does not bar you from seeking employment or accepting a job. Assuming you need a job, I see no reason why you shouldn't be looking for work. The DUI shouldn't be a big problem unless there are further incidents or the type of work you're looking for involves driving company vehicles.

Good luck.