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| *Ostroff, Fair and Company>>>Law & Legal |
Can I be fired for a felony I was convicted of while I have been employed at my current company? |
I have been a waiter for 2 years and soon after i started i was convicted of a felony (posession controlled substance) stemming fromabout 2 years prior, now my company is getting bought out bya franchise and i have to refill out my application with the dreaded question on it. I doubt they do back ground checks but if i am truthful and put it down will i get fired? I have worked my way up and and I am a trainer and supervisior, would they just let me go because of it if I put it on the new application or would it even matter since I am already hired and proved myself? I never lied on the original application and have a bachelor's degree at 24. I understand employment at will but I'm just trying to get by right now till i find more work.......Please offer any meaningfull insight Since this is in effect an intra-company transfer, are you sure they will ask you to resubmit an application? From an HR standpoint, the documents that are needed are the ones that will affect payroll and the HR info system - W4s, beneficiary and benefit forms, personal info like addresses, etc. They may ask you to complete a new I-9 form, which shows legal eligibility to work in the US. It would be impractical and pretty expensive to run backgrounds on all of the employees transferring over, and even if you do complete a new app, the detail may get lost in the shuffle - having handled HR merger activity before, I can tell you there's a mountain of paperwork. However, if you do list the felony on your app and it is discovered, the company does have the right to terminate you for that conviction. Whether or not they will exercise that right is another matter - as you point out, you've been promoted to a responsible position and they may not have anyone available to backfill your role, at least in the short term. Bottom line, tell the truth if you are asked and let the chips fall where they may - I think your risk of exposure is fairly minimal for the reasons I've listed above. Best of luck. Having a felony doesn't automatically bar you from employment. And being honest will certainly go far in your favor. I would fill the new app out, and take it to them directly, and be ready to explain why the felony exist. Hiding it, or just letting them discover it on their own is the wrong approach. Good luck! Meaningful insight? You now have a felony conviction on your record. Even if you lie about it, if a background check is done, it will be found out. Tell the truth about it, and you will not be hired more than likely as it is against most company policies to hire a felon. Do not be so sure about them not doing one being as it is smarter to do this than have a felon working for you and suffer a loss because of it. Under the circumstances, you will just need to tell the truth and hope for the best. Maybe since you have been a good employee, you will not be asked to fill out a new application, but this is doubtful. Just reading your question I can tell you are educated. It is a shame that something like this can follow you. Good luck. Worked internal security and loss prevention for a large corporation. Yuck. That's an awful situation. I don't think anybody here could give you the answer any better than you could, though. Really, they can do whatever they want as far as hiring is concerned. (And it sounds like they're just officially looking to hire people from the old establishment into a new company.) So, if the same management is reviewing the applications and they like you, I'm sure you'll be able to stick around. If they don't like you, well, this is their excuse. Pack your bags. Also, if some unaware corporate nobodies are weeding through applications looking for crap like this, they might send you packing too... Employers don't like any criminal record for some reason. Heck, I have some federal misdemeanors for protesting on what the government considered "military bases." I've discovered that now, I just get rejection notices without an interview from a LOT of places .. I put my social security number on an application, they look into it, and they decide not to hire me. They don't ask why. They don't care it was peaceful protesting. I'm just not considered, despite the fact that I'm brilliant. :) (So much for free speech if you can't get a lot of jobs for a federal misdemeanor. Gawd.) Maybe you could start your own business. :) If you answer the question with a lie, you WILL get fired. However, if you answer honestly, the employer will have to determine if you are "placable" in certain sensitive areas (Finances, safety, that type of thing.) If you lie on your application and they find out, and they WILL find out, tongues DO wag, you know, you will get fired. Most applications have that qualifier in the fine print just before your signature. But if you are open, let them ask you about the felony, although they are limited in what they can ask, just respond that you made an error in judgment (hopefully, this is the case!). Let them know that you've grown since the felony, that you've cleaned up your act, and insure your employer that it is no longer an issue. A company is under no obligation to explain why they accepted or rejected your application: if it is the company's policy, a zero-tolerance policy, for example, then you have a slim chance. As a personnel Manager, I'd look at your App and wonder why a college-educated person is working as a waiter. After I saw your conviction, I'd start making assumptions. So, you want to head those types of assumptions off: Dress professional, BE professional. Admit your mistake and try to assure them that it was a one-time thing. A few more pointers: Do NOT put the police code for the felony, just say what it is: I had an applicant do that and it brought more attention to it than I normally give it. I had to look up the code, which explained to my why he was being evasive, and having an evasive employee isn't what I want to have. DO NOT LIE: No one looks at an application and hopes to hire a liar! Once your lie is discovered, your credibility is shot. Also, keep in mind, the lie is on paper, which means that if the employer EVER finds out, even years later, it is still grounds for dismissal. Personnel/Human Resource Manager |
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