Not being hired for felony under First Time Offenders Act

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Blayze

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I have recently been turned down for employment due to a felony from 10 years ago, the sentencing was under the First Time Offenders Act in the state of GA. This has been haunting me for the past ten years, and frankly I am getting tired of being unemployed due to failing background checks. I looked up the law and it states "…is not a conviction of a crime under the laws of this state and may not be used to disqualify a person in any application for employment or appointment to office in either the public or private sector". So basically I am asking what I can do about this , can I have it removed from records?
 
Yeah this past time , I was hired pending criminal background. It was then due to failure of background check that declined employment. And that is the only thing I have on my criminal record.
 
When you apply for jobs, do you tell them this is in your history? It is legal to refuse to hire you for lying (including lying by omission) about your history. So if you are asked if you have a criminal history, and you either say no or leave the question blank, that is a LEGAL reason to deny you when the background check comes back. In that case you're not being turned down for the history, but for the lie.

Any possibility that's what's at issue?
 
The problem might be in what is actually in background check. Have you run your own background check or recieved a copy from potential employer? Your legal action and who to take action on may depend on what is actually stated in background check.
 
Even assuming that your interpretation of the First Time Offenders Act is correct, this state law would presumably only restrict Georgia employers from discriminating against you on this basis.

At this juncture, you may want to explore petitioning to have your GA criminal record expunged. As I understand it, this process is more arduous in GA than other jurisdictions, but doable. If you have not re-offended since you obtained the First Time Offenders disposition, you may be able to have your record expunged.

If you succeed in obtaining an expungement, then you can minimize, if not eliminate, the prospect of prospective employers discovering your felony arrest record or disposition.
 
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