Background check included expunged record 15 years old

[brwneyes]

In 1993 at the age of 19, I was arrested by campus police in Connecticut for stealing a calling card. I went to court for the incident and was given accelerated rehabilitation and was told that this incident will be expunge from my record. In 2008, I applied for a job that required top-secret security clearance. I did not include in the e-Qip my 1993 arrest because (1) it should have been expunged and (2) it was over 10 years ago. Needless to say, I was denied security clearance.

I requested and received a copy of the security clearance file and results of the background investigation. There were no negative information in my files - besides a few late payments (due to unemployment) and the fact that I was arrested in 1993. Somehow the security clearance officer found out that I was arrested and pulled the arrest record. Apparently, the arrest record was forwarded FBI and they had a copy.

In 2009, I received a letter from OPM that someone made a mistake and the arrest record should not have been given to the background investigator and that they will expunge the record.

In 2009, 2010 and 2011, I applied for jobs that require Top Secret clearance and I was hired by all agency but was later denied employment because of my 2008 background investigation which had the arrest record. What can I do? Can I request that they re-do the background investigation? Do I have a case for a lawsuit?

I can't even get a job with the TSA and I have a Masters in Criminal Justice. It is really frustrating that I cannot get a job because of a mistake I made over 15 years ago.

 

[army judge]

Generally, convictions don't just go away, if the investigating agency is the US Government.

There is very little you can do now.

What you shouldn't have done is commit a crime.



Yeah, yeah, but, but; no you can only sue the Feds, if you first obtain their permission.

Why?



Sovereign immunity!!!


No one sues the king.


I suggest you look into what you call an expungement.



Contact the court and state authorities in CT.


If there is a possibility to fix this, that's where I'd start.

Don't get your hopes up, things probably won't be changing anytime soon.

And, what you didn't get years ago, you won't be getting now.

But, new vistas might open for you, if you can get some answers and action in CT.

 

[disagreeable]

The thing about a government security clearance is it goes to character. That was a reflection of your character. Expunged records usually apply to government security clearance checks for that reason.

 

[esteele]

Based on your post, it appears that you (and/or your attorney) convinced the judge to agree to the equivalent of "probation before judgment" or "PBJ" in lieu of a conviction for stealing the calling card. You may want to re-check the law in Connection on Accelerated Rehabilitation, the apparent PBJ equivalent in this state.

In many, if not most, jurisdictions which allow PBJs or the equivalent, the record of your arrest and the dismissal of the charges – you were never "convicted" – would not be automatically expunged. In these jurisdictions, the affected individual has to file a subsequent motion to expunge the arrest and related records. Otherwise, an employer can discover your arrest record.

Moreover, absent an actual expungement order, you have an obligation to disclose the fact you have an arrest record if asked. In your attempts to obtain these above-described jobs, did you disclose the arrest record?

In sum, before you apply for any more jobs, you should probably confer with an experienced Connecticut attorney to determine conclusively whether the information you were told in 1993 was accurate. I suspect it was not.