Who Checks Criminal Records?
Americans have become increasingly security conscious since 9/11. It is now common for someone who is seeking a job to find that a company checks criminal records as part of its hiring process. Some companies are even conducting background checks on long-time employees. This situation has resulted in some people finding that youthful indiscretions are now causing them a problem. Additionally, professional licensing boards in most states are required by law to do criminal record checks to make sure applicants have not been convicted of occupation-related crimes. Many people these days are finding that past offenses are becoming barriers to employment, or even causing them to lose their present jobs.
A company must obtain a prospective employee's written consent before it can run a check and get criminal record information. Read your application carefully. Often the wording for obtaining consent for a criminal record check is written into the job application, though some companies use a separate consent form.
Many states have laws limiting how far back they can check for convictions, or limiting the types of convictions they take into account for business or job-related offenses. Even if your record has been expunged, these types of offenses may still come up in a criminal records search. You may want to check with a lawyer to find out how far into the past an employer can look for arrests or convictions.
A state board checks criminal records for license applicants in many occupations. If you are applying for a license as a teacher, health care worker, childcare worker or elder care worker, then you may be subject to a criminal record check. The licensing agency may limit the background check to occupation-related offenses. Having a larceny conviction should not be a problem for someone applying for a license for massage therapy, yet a conviction of prostitution or a sex offense would. If you are trying to obtain a license to work with vulnerable persons, such as children, the sick or the elderly, then criminal record checks can create special problems.
A past criminal offense can create problems for a person who is looking for work. This is true whether an employer is doing a criminal records search or it is a state licensing board that checks criminal records. If the arrest or conviction was in the distant past, then having a clean criminal record in the years since can work in your favor. Having the conviction expunged from your record can also help in getting a job or a professional license. In either case, if you have had a past brush with the law, you should talk to an attorney to find out how offense will affect your being able to find work.
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Today's Tip On Criminal Record
You can use the internet to start digging into the past of a prospective employee. Search criminal records, while keeping in mind that the free resources are mostly indicative rather than in-depth investigations. A good starting point for criminal record information would be past work places, surname, security number, present and past place of residence, etc. You should also be ready to use a paid agency in case you find your suspicions justified. It is very important that you read the whole criminal record information that the internet throws up to you because there might be cases where the beginning starts with a conviction, but ends up saying that since it was found later to be the result of a false accusation, the person was exonerated, even though the record remained.
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