discharged after 41/2 years b/c of background report

[almpvnj]

I started working for a collection agency in new jersey in April of 2010 and have been a good employee, no issues and always performed and met goals that were given. When I was hired, I agreed to background check and also provided them with information that I had plead guilty to a charge that was reduced to a misdemeanor for theft by deception in 2007. I was sentenced to 1 year probation and fines in 2009. I have had no further involvement with the law. I also had to sign every year for criminal background checks and there never was an issue. The company took care to license their collectors in the states that needed licensing and I had been prevented from working accounts in the state of Minnesota and in the state of Massachusetts, due to their strict guidelines for collectors. There were many other collectors in the same situation, but it never seemed to be a big concern because we really didn't have many accounts in those states. In September, 2014, the company I worked for was bought out by another collection agency that was based in Minnesota. They told us everything was going to remain the same but that we all had to reapply for our positions and be subject to a background check and drug test. I filled out the application, again being up front with everything in my background including a bankruptcy that occurred in 1995. I was then told that I had to provide them with court documents regarding my arrest and how it was adjudicated and provide them with documents regarding the bankruptcy. I told them that I had no idea where these documents were, it had been a long time and I had moved several times. I told them I would have to go to the court and get them. A member of their transition team told me to write a summary of what happened and told me we will see if they accept that. On October 1,2014, I was given a document stating that I was hired but was pending the outcome of the background report and drug test. I got them all of the documents they asked for, even sending in $50 fee to get my bankruptcy documents from the National Archives. I was called from my desk on Monday November 24, 2014 and was told that they were sorry that it took so long for the background report information to come back and they realize that I had been working with them to get them all of the information, BUT because of the information contained on the background report that we were going to have to part ways. The HR manager told me she was sorry, but because the new company was going by their standards that I could no longer work for them. So after working there for 4 1/2 years, I was fired. Is this legal to do this? Will I be able to collect unemployment? I am a single mother who just wants to work and earn a living and it doesn't seem that I will be able to. How do I get a job and keep it, if this is constantly going to come back to haunt me? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[army judge]

Is this legal to do this?

Yes, an employer doesn't need to tell you why you are being terminated.
The employer could have fired you because you were too ugly, too slow, too fast, you had poor hygiene, or just because someone needed to be fired.

Will I be able to collect unemployment?

Only your state unemployment agency can determine if you will received unemployment.
You are certainly free to apply and let the state decide.

How do I get a job and keep it, if this is constantly going to come back to haunt me? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

People with criminal convictions face this everyday.
The next US Congress is investigating giving people clean slates to convicts after they've served their debt to society.
In the meantime, you can seek employment that doesn't require stringent background or credit checks.
To be fair, you were convicted of crime that had to do with money going missing, or being misused.
You were originally charged with a felony, but plead to misdemeanor.
Only a full pardon by the governor of the state where you were convicted will remove the stain.
You can forget about that, because those are reserved for the wealthy, well connected convicts.

 

[Betty3]

Sorry but your employer did not do anything illegal. You need to apply for UI - the state will decide if you qualify