Posted: 5/12/2008 2:18:54 PM EDT
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I talked before about a buddy of mine before that hit rock bottom. Child support payments to his ex. Lost his job, knocked up his girlfriend, making payments on WAY too much stuff. He finally got hired as a mechanic and was promptly fired. He says it is because they did a background check on him, but I think it is because he is just an idiot with tools. (He couldn't fight his way out of a paper bag with a claw hammer) Anyway, the job application asked if he had been convicted of anything in the last 7 years. He checked no. He was convicted (pled guilty) of ramming his ex-wife's lover's car 8 years ago. So he answered honestly. But he was on probation for two years. His probation ended 6 years ago. When a criminal background check is done, what date do they go by? Our public records are internet searchable, and I found a ton of other convictions on his record, but most are traffic related. (no insurance, no registration, no seatbelt, speeding, etc all within the last couple of months) So I maintain they found out he had a terrible driving record, and couldn't afford the liability of him driving customer vehicles. But the criminal background check in regards to probation is in question, and I don't have any idea. |
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I can't answer your question directly, but I have this to offer. I asked an HR person about background checks in general and she said they farm it out. At a cost of about $40, the contracted company isn't going to put a whole lot of effort into digging. There has to be some profit in that measly 40 bucks. So only the easiest public records are found. I do know that job applications stipulate you can be fired for falsifying the application. There is a BIG OUT for the employer, even if the error/omission was slight. In your work history you think to yourself, "Did I start that job in 4/92, or 5/92?" Hmmm. So you just take a guess, figuring it's no big deal. And it isn't, really, unless and until the company wants to put a fork in you, then they point to the "falsification" of your application. Job apps are the way to set employees up for a fall. 
ETA: In the most legalistic of terms, there might be an argument for the difference between the conviction and the probation, but more than likely the employer dumped your friend because, calcualtions aside, he didn't pass the company sniff test. Whether or not he was clean for 7 years and a day probably didn't matter. |
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He was given a suspended sentence when given probation. A conditional suspended sentence with probation usually means the offense will be discharged once the probation has been served without incident and no public criminal record. That doesn't mean there won't be police records and/or court records. You have to get a court order to get those expunged. An unconditional suspended sentence means there is no probation or fines, but there will be a public criminal record. FWIW I'm no attorney but I'd say he didn't lie on the job app. |
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Ok there are various types of background. A 10 fingerprint BG is about the only one that will give you anything past 7 yrs. That is standard for financial institutions and jobs like mine. Full on almost as big time as the SSBI I went through. Your buddy probably had the probation portion found out and since it was a violence type hting total no go. Lots of folks don't realize now adays a violence conviction or arrest is a big no go for most companies. Why? Because if you have a violence arrest, conviction whatever in your past and SEARS or whoever hires you and you flip out and pound your manager to a pulp guess what? He is gonna sue SEARS and win. He will say hey they new this guy had a violent history and they still hired him and subjected everyone to his anger or whatever. |
+1 My dad is a dealership service manager and does the mechanic hiring/firing. They check driving records but don't give a crap about checking felonies or anything unless you admit to one. A terrible driving record (a liability to a company that puts you behind the wheel) is much more important than a legal infraction 8 years ago. |
that's the most probable cause, the place I work at does full criminal/civil back ground checks including financials, the back ground app used to be 28 pgs along with 10 finger printing, I think it's still around 20 pages though. one of the first questions asked: "have you ever been arrested/charged and/or convicted of a misdomeanor and/or felony?"; but just because a person has an arrest/conviction/deferment/probation etc. for a felony/misdomeanor or high credit debt doesn't neccessarily prevent them from receiving a licensed to work (either full or conditional), but can prevent them from working in certain depts. it all depends on the seriousness and nature of the crime/case. eta: criminal/civil |
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I agree, I'm pretty sure it was his driving record that got him in trouble. But I'm still curious about the background check thing itself. Are some companies that do background checks limited to only 7 years? Who/what sets the 7 year limit? Or does the company draw a line at 7 years because they don't consider you a risk to be a repeat offender if you haven't repeated in the past 7 years? Like I said, I can pull up his criminal record on the county courthouse's website. I found my speeding ticket from 1993 on it. So it goes back at least 15 years. |