What Happens When Employers Find A Criminal Record?

In the employer world federal law requires that they perform background checks for people that want to work in certain jobs. If employers find a criminal record for an individual who want to enter these fields, that applicant is immediately discarded.

Fields like education, child care, adult care, and elderly care require federal and local background checks of all employees. If they find a criminal record of any applicant that is applying for a job in this field, they legally have to discard that applicant from their list of potential employees.

So if you know that you have some kind of criminal record, you cannot study or prepare yourself for any of these fields, because no matter what your preparation or qualifications may be, you will never get a job in these areas.

An Employer is looking to find a Criminal Record at the Federal Level

That being said lets review companies policies when screening applicants for jobs. Most companies, or at least companies that may give you options to be promoted run background checks on prospective employees.

These background checks will be run at the federal level. A company will either conduct the check themselves or hire an investigative company to do it for them. They will go to the federal justice department to see fit there are any federal criminal records against an applicant.

An Employer is looking to find a Criminal Record at the County Level

Afterwards, based upon the places you lived within the last ten years, go to the county court house of that area and find out if there are any criminal judgments against you at the county level.

An Employer is looking to find a Criminal Record at the District and State Level

Then the company will proceed in the same manner with the district courts. Some companies may conduct statewide searches, although this type of search is less frequent because a state search takes a few weeks to a couple of months to be returned.

What Happens when Employers Find a Criminal Record?

There are certain regulations in this regard. Some criminal records if old are supposed to be disregarded. Others if there were no convictions are to be disregarded. If companies find a criminal record with minor infractions, these infractions are supposed to be disregarded. Unfortunately we are a very judgmental society and although we are supposed to disregard them, we don't necessarily, and this of course affects the applicant in a very detrimental way.

What is the Solution When Companies find a Criminal Record?

This is obviously not a very viable solution to our needs as a society. We are seriously hurting people that are trying to make better lives for themselves and avoid a life of crime. And yet we seem to be pushing them back toward it. A solution needs to be found by which people who have committed mistakes in their lives can find better employment solutions for themselves.

Criminal Record