Not hired because of criminal record

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albjas

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Here's my situation:
In 2002, I was charged with theft at a gas station I had worked at in Eau Claire, WI. I was 20 years old at the time and I realize I made a huge mistake but it was a good learning experience. Anyway, I did the Deferred Guilty Plea Agreement so that I could get the charge lessened. I completed my community service and paid the restitution within the first year. Once I completed my agreement, the charge of Retail Theft was dismissed and amended to a Disorderly Conduct (Forfeiture). Since then I've had no problems with the law or my employers.

This summer my fiance and I moved to Onalaska, WI so she could work and I could go to school full-time. I was looking for a part-time job in September so I applied for a receiving/customer pickup job at Sears through my schools job center. I had the interview and everything went well, so they invited me back the next day and offered me the job. Then they had me go over some paperwork such as filling out the W-2 forms and how I would like my paychecks (direct deposit or check). I completed the drug test on the following Monday and was scheduled for orientation on Thursday.

When Thursday came around, the Human Resources lady called 30 minutes before orientation and said they hadn't received my background check yet so we'd have to reschedule once they got it back. Almost a week went by, so I called to see what the status was and she said that they found a hit on my background check and that they would send me the paperwork. The lady also asked me why I answered "no" on the application to "have you ever been convicted of a crime" and I told her that the retail theft charge had been dismissed. She said that the background check said nothing about the charge being dismissed. Also, before I filled out the application I contacted the District Attorney's office in Eau Claire to see what I should answer given the circumstances and the lady I talked to said that because it was dismissed I could answer "no".

After receiving the background check paperwork, I received a letter saying that they couldn't offer me employment. So I decided to write the company a letter explaining why I had answered "no" and how I've changed as a person since then. I also explained that I've had a very good work history since that happened. After they got my letter, I received another letter stating that they couldn't offer me the position.

So what I'm trying to find out is what am I really supposed to do about this in the future. I feel that Sears based their decision on something that happened five years ago which doesn't reflect who I am today. There's probably nothing I can do about it at this point, but I plan on appling for more jobs and I'm unsure of how I should answer that question. Maybe someone has some advice for me on what I should do or not do. Any advice is appreiciated!!

Jason
 
It is totally legal for them to not hire you because of your record. especially since you lied . You still have a record of Disordely Conduct even though arrest records will show you were orig charged with theft. You should do a background check on yourself to see what comes up. You also might want to check with an attorney to see if you might have any luck getting it expunged.

So be honest on the job application and maybe someone will cut you a break.
 
Check with a criminal lawyer if your offense can be expunged or sealed........If it can, you can use a sevice like www.recordremoval.com. For about 300 dollars they get your expunction in court and contact the different data bases online and relevant autorities for to take off the record from the public. Just an expunction without anyone contacting the private databases does not help.
 
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