A relative of mine drove a friend home who had been drinking and he left a bottle in his back seat. Unfortunately he lives in a town where the only thing you have to do to get pulled over is to be black, hispanic, or a teen. So he was pulled over the next day and the policeman saw the bottle in the back seat on the floor and wrote him up for an open container violation. Over a year later he applied for a job at a national electronics chain who uses a national agency to run background checks and they reported the open container violation. The relative got a letter stating that the employer declines offering employment to people with open container violations. So, I suppose my question is this, does an open container violation make you unemployable? Is there any time limit for such an issue? Thanks for reading this.
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Alcohol & Drugs: MIP, MIC, Intoxication Open container violation and employment
- Thread Starter greaburns
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Im not a lawyer but here are my thoughts -
If he has no other violations, seek to have it expunged.
Are you in a right to work state or an at will state for employemnt? In an at will state, an employer can not hire you for any reason and let you go for any reason.
GENERALLY, an employer cannot discriminate unless the essentail duites of the job prohibit a particular offense. It could be considered a safety risk for the employer to hire someone who MAY have issues with alcohol or drugs.
Many states right now are looking to increase voter registration and many governors are willing to restore voting rights by expunging or sealing (its still there in the background for state and federal jobs) records for non violent offenders. It is election year.
What is the job?
If he has no other violations, seek to have it expunged.
Are you in a right to work state or an at will state for employemnt? In an at will state, an employer can not hire you for any reason and let you go for any reason.
GENERALLY, an employer cannot discriminate unless the essentail duites of the job prohibit a particular offense. It could be considered a safety risk for the employer to hire someone who MAY have issues with alcohol or drugs.
Many states right now are looking to increase voter registration and many governors are willing to restore voting rights by expunging or sealing (its still there in the background for state and federal jobs) records for non violent offenders. It is election year.
What is the job?
The job is selling stereo equipment for cars.
It is certainly a very different world that we live in today. I know MANY people who did stupid things when they were 17, 18 or 19 years old and "grew up" when they hit 20 or 21. The got jobs and were productive members of society who didn't get in trouble again. In today's environment they probably wouldn't have gotten their jobs and I suspect may have ended up getting in more trouble and being a burden on society. So we now have a few large companies that specialize in collecting information about us from a plurality of databases and charging a fee to employers to regurgitate this information. The employers then make hiring decisions with no evidence of a correlation between the offence and bad behaviour at work.
So if nobody will hire you because of an open container violation on your driver's license what options do you have? (I don't really expect an answer to this question).
It is certainly a very different world that we live in today. I know MANY people who did stupid things when they were 17, 18 or 19 years old and "grew up" when they hit 20 or 21. The got jobs and were productive members of society who didn't get in trouble again. In today's environment they probably wouldn't have gotten their jobs and I suspect may have ended up getting in more trouble and being a burden on society. So we now have a few large companies that specialize in collecting information about us from a plurality of databases and charging a fee to employers to regurgitate this information. The employers then make hiring decisions with no evidence of a correlation between the offence and bad behaviour at work.
So if nobody will hire you because of an open container violation on your driver's license what options do you have? (I don't really expect an answer to this question).
cbg
Super Moderator
Right to work means that you cannot be forced to join a union to get work. It is NOT the opposite of employment at will. Every state except Montana, and even sometimes Montana, is employment at will. It is quite possible for a state to be both. In fact, since Montana is not a right to work state, every state that is right to work, is both.
Here is the bottom line. An open container violation does not automatically bar you from employment. It also does not violate any laws if an employer chooses not to hire you because of it (in most states - there are a few where an employer cannot consider convictions unless they have a close relationship to the job at hand).
Here is the bottom line. An open container violation does not automatically bar you from employment. It also does not violate any laws if an employer chooses not to hire you because of it (in most states - there are a few where an employer cannot consider convictions unless they have a close relationship to the job at hand).
It still refers to whether a reason or notice must be given.
I orignally hail from RI which is a right to work state; now live in VA which is at will. States that prohibit 'at will' (end your contract for any reason) require an employer to show cause.
This protects employers is by virtually eliminating the ability for an employee to seek a civil remedy in a wrongful termination lawsuit. An employer can simply say, "Sorry, we don't you need anymore," and in an at-will state for an at-will employer with no hiring contract, that is good enough.
According to a US DOL web page, right to work also includes Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevadam North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. RIght to work statues are enforced in 22 states under the Taft-Hartley Act. The provision gives the Attorney General power to investiage allegations against unions.
I will courtesy that my experience has been that in at will states, with no employment contracts (unions whether one belongs or not) that the employer other than through Civil rights like ADA, can let the employee go for no reason and the employee may also leave for no reason. In at will states, company policy has been to give warning, give notice, etc before termination.
I orignally hail from RI which is a right to work state; now live in VA which is at will. States that prohibit 'at will' (end your contract for any reason) require an employer to show cause.
This protects employers is by virtually eliminating the ability for an employee to seek a civil remedy in a wrongful termination lawsuit. An employer can simply say, "Sorry, we don't you need anymore," and in an at-will state for an at-will employer with no hiring contract, that is good enough.
According to a US DOL web page, right to work also includes Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevadam North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. RIght to work statues are enforced in 22 states under the Taft-Hartley Act. The provision gives the Attorney General power to investiage allegations against unions.
I will courtesy that my experience has been that in at will states, with no employment contracts (unions whether one belongs or not) that the employer other than through Civil rights like ADA, can let the employee go for no reason and the employee may also leave for no reason. In at will states, company policy has been to give warning, give notice, etc before termination.
cbg
Super Moderator
Rhode Island is an employment at will state.
Right to work is NOT, repeat, NOT the opposite of at-will. They serve two different funtions and all right to work states are also employment at will states.
Please get your terminology straight.
Additionally, suppose you post the law that says that in an employment at will state, the employer must provide notice or reason before termination.
I'll wait while you look for it.
Right to work is NOT, repeat, NOT the opposite of at-will. They serve two different funtions and all right to work states are also employment at will states.
Please get your terminology straight.
Additionally, suppose you post the law that says that in an employment at will state, the employer must provide notice or reason before termination.
I'll wait while you look for it.
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