Barb J. Wyskowski, J.D.’s Post

Why you should expunge a criminal record The elephant in the room for candidates who had a prior interaction with the criminal court system is how to approach this topic prior to applying for employment. Far too many candidates fail to deal with a situation that can come back to haunt them. The primary issue is the “Box” when the candidate indicates that they do not have a record, and potentially lose an opportunity for employment. In my capacity as the Chief Compliance Officer, I’ve spoken with many candidates who are disputing the record that we found, and reported to the potential employer. Far too many people believe that because they pled to a lesser charge, and they were informed that the original charge was dropped, the criminal case will not be found in a background investigation. The candidate will incorrectly indicate on the application that they do not have a criminal record. Additionally, candidates will contact our office about a record that we reported to the potential employer, and state that they have had numerous background checks, and they were informed by the employer that a criminal record was not found during this process. The candidate mistakenly indicated on the application that they do not have a record. Background vendors have a propensity to conduct what they call artificial intelligence criminal record checks that will often miss a record that would be found if criminal research was conducted through a primary source such as the State Police. When a primary source criminal record check is conducted, and a record is found that was missed by other background vendors, the candidate loses an opportunity for employment due to the “Box”. The candidate must be proactive, and contact the court in question to determine the final disposition of the case as well as the possibility of expunging the record so that it will never be found during a background check. In most states, the expungement process can be initiated by the individual through the court where the criminal case was heard, and without an attorney. The expungement process can be lengthy in some states taking as long as a year to process. There’s no better time to start than today to resolve this issue. Get Hired by LinkedIn News LinkedIn Talent Solutions National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) National Association of Colleges and Employers SHRM #jobadvice