What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida
I had a misdemeanor charge expunged several years ago in Florida. I have since had a pre-employment background check done by a large corporation, and of course no record was found because the private sector has no access to expunged charges.
I am now seeking employment in the field of education, and as with any government job, I have to disclose this expunged charge because the state will investigate the expunged record before hiring. My question is about what exactly I have to answer on the background screening section of a state/school job application. The first section is usually "sealed/expunged records" and I know that I have to answer that section about my expunged charge. The next section is for criminal records in general. Do I have to disclose the expunged charge again in the second "general" section where it asks "have you ever been arrested, entered a plea, blah, blah, blah" after I already disclosed it in the expunged section, or can I skip this section and say "no, I have never been charged" even when it's not exactly true since I was charged, but it's now expunged?
My concern is that by answering criminal history questions with redundant information, I am being weeded out against candidates with no criminal history. If I have to answer "yes" to both sections about charges (expunged and charges in general), that adds up to a lot of check-marks on the criminal history questionnaire which looks really bad for a future teacher.
If I have a right to answer the expunged section only, and then "no" answers to the charges in general I think my application will look significantly better.
I had a misdemeanor charge expunged several years ago in Florida. I have since had a pre-employment background check done by a large corporation, and of course no record was found because the private sector has no access to expunged charges.
I am now seeking employment in the field of education, and as with any government job, I have to disclose this expunged charge because the state will investigate the expunged record before hiring. My question is about what exactly I have to answer on the background screening section of a state/school job application. The first section is usually "sealed/expunged records" and I know that I have to answer that section about my expunged charge. The next section is for criminal records in general. Do I have to disclose the expunged charge again in the second "general" section where it asks "have you ever been arrested, entered a plea, blah, blah, blah" after I already disclosed it in the expunged section, or can I skip this section and say "no, I have never been charged" even when it's not exactly true since I was charged, but it's now expunged?
My concern is that by answering criminal history questions with redundant information, I am being weeded out against candidates with no criminal history. If I have to answer "yes" to both sections about charges (expunged and charges in general), that adds up to a lot of check-marks on the criminal history questionnaire which looks really bad for a future teacher.
If I have a right to answer the expunged section only, and then "no" answers to the charges in general I think my application will look significantly better.
