Arrested!!

Parent Cafe
1

<p>As I understand it, many official application forms (for college or jobs) in the US will ask if you have ever been arrested or convicted of any offense.</p>

<p>To me, it is very strange and obviously prejudicial to have to report an ‘arrest’. Surely if sometime is arrested and released (because they quickly find they got the wrong person), or even tried but acquitted, then it should never have to be reported.</p>

<p>I don’t think this is normal is most other countries. How do people accept this obvious infringement of their personal privacy and rights?</p>

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<p>The job application where I am employed says:</p>

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<p>Usually, the question is followed by space for an explanation if the answer is “yes.” </p>

<p>But I am uncomfortable with the question, too. Being arrested does not have the same significance as being convicted.</p>

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<p>It is a bad practice, i believe and does not jibe with our “innocent until proven guilty” judicial system.</p>

<p>Did you know that, even if you are a minor, even if your record gets expunged at a later date, even if you are found not guilty or there was false arrest…it will come up on a CORI check for the rest of your life? It may not say what the issue was but it will be a “blip” that needs to be explained.</p>

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<p>It is extremely risky for an employer to ask about arrests because of the higher incidence of arrests among some minority groups. I wouldn’t answer the question.</p>

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<p>*It is a bad practice, i believe and does not jibe with our “innocent until proven guilty” judicial system.</p>

<p>*</p>

<p>Only the judicial system has to have that attitude. Others have the right to think whatever they want. I think Casey Anthony’s guilty…I can think that.</p>

<p>But, I agree…only convictions should need to be reported.</p>

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<p>For a security clearance for the Federal government - including the military all arrests and convictions must be reported.</p>

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<p>Same goes for bar membership – you have to report everything, even if it’s an expunged juvenile record. It won’t necessarily keep you out, but you have to report it.</p>

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<p>yup, some even ask you about traffic tickets.</p>

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<p>You should see what they ask about on immigration forms.</p>

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<p>It’s confusing, too, for people with expunged records or who’ve done any adjudication which supposedly wipes out their record. They are told they can honestly say NO to the question, per the state law outlining the program, yet if they do that in some circumstances, they will be black marked for lying about it (federal jobs, immigration, etc)</p>

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<p>“How do people accept this obvious infringement of their personal privacy and rights?”</p>

<p>your kinda wrong, being arrested is a serious thing and should be looked at in applications.
its what makes a normal person and a criminal different + the colleges/universities want to know this becuase they want to be able to trust you.</p>

13

<p>It’s usually government jobs that ask about this. In some states, you can ask such questions when someone is applying for a job working with children, including, but not limited to teaching. </p>

<p>I have mixed feelings. </p>

<p>A long time ago, a little girl in my neighborhood was raped.(She was examined by a doctor and it was determined that she had been sexually assaulted but it was too long after the rape itself for there to be semen present.) She named her mother’s boyfriend as the rapist. He was tried and convicted of the crime. The child had to testify. The conviction was overturned on a legal technicality. (The appeals court found that the trial judge hadn’t adequately questioned the little girl before her testimony as to whether she understood what it means to lie.) The conviction was overturned after the alleged rapist had served some time in prison. </p>

<p>The DA wanted to retry the case. The child’s father said no. Two years had passed. The little girl was doing well. Dad had gotten custody of her and her mom was limited to supervised visitation. He was bitter about the reversal, but he just couldn’t put this child through another trial. </p>

<p>Technically, the alleged rapist can answer that he has not been convicted of any crime. However, I sure wouldn’t hire him to work with young kids. I support laws that allow background checks which include arrests, not just convictions, when sex crimes are involved, especially if the arrests are for alleged crimes that involve young children. </p>

<p>When the crime relates to the job, then, I think, you should consider the arrest. There are a heck of a lot of people who are arrested for drunk driving and allowed to go through a diversion program instead of proceeding to trial. Maybe that doesn’t happen as often now, but it used to happen all the time. Should these folks be allowed to get jobs as commercial truck drivers, school bus drivers, etc.? </p>

<p>Should someone who was arrested for drug use and diverted to a treatment program, thus avoiding a conviction, be able to get a job working in a pharmacy or in a hospital in a position where they may have access to drugs? </p>

<p>In other cases, there’s no doubt of guilt but the charges are dropped in exchange for testimony. In such a case, is the arrest really irrelevant?</p>

<p>I think it’s a complex issue.</p>

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<p>It’s illegal to ask if person has been “arrested” but not illegal to ask if the person has been “convicted”.
The question of “arrested” leads to adverse impact - given prejudice in our society, blacks are often arrested, that of course doesn’t mean they are guilty. This is why any application asking if a person was arrested is illegal.</p>

<p>Check out the department of labor website or uniform selection guidelines for additional information.</p>

15

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<p>Being arrested might be a serious thing, but it also might be the result of civil disobedience or mistaken identity or racial profiling or a minor infraction of the law that has absolutely nothing at all to do with trust. </p>

<p>If a prospective employer asks if an applicant has ever been arrested (not convicted mind you, just arrested), and feels that a “yes” answer means that the applicant cannot be trusted…well, that employer is going to miss out on some stellar potential employees.</p>

16

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This is already true. Every company and every recruiter asks this question. </p>

<p>Since I’ve been helping my son with all his job applications since graduation, I’ve noticed that EVERY online applications has this question. Every single one. And every recruiter asks this question in their application. And these applications are not accepted or complete unless this question has been answered.</p>

17

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Say what? This can’t be so; please explain further. Companies do it anyway. Some even ask what was the original charge and all dates of when arrested and then when convicted. </p>

<p>And imagine if someone complains. The result: won’t get hired. I’m so amazed to see the extent of information these companies ask, and b/c it’s so easy to check, you can bet the offender has to give it. These days, I wonder if offenders weigh the odds between lying or not admitting to arrest/conviction vs getting caught and losing the job. At least they’d get a job, for awhile.</p>

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<p>From the IL Department of Employment Security:</p>

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<p>I chose my own state as an example, but I’m guessing Illinois is not alone.</p>

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<p>I believe that such questions are illegal under New York State law as well. An employer can ask only about arrests that resulted in a conviction. (I would assume that the federal government, acting as an employer, isn’t bound by such state laws.)</p>

<p>I’m sure that a lot of employers know that they’re breaking the law and do it anyway, because they figure that many people don’t know their rights and will answer the question anyway.</p>

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<p>My understanding is that it is illegal in some states for employers to ask about arrests. That is the law in NY, as Donna has said. It is NOT illegal in ALL states. </p>

<p>Moreover, even when it is illegal, that’s not the end of the issue. In some cases, the arrest can stop you from getting the job though technically you aren’t asked about it.</p>

<p>This is the case in some states for certain jobs requiring a license. In most states, candidates for admission to the bar CAN be asked about arrests. Usually, you can be admitted despite an arrest --and in some cases, a conviction. However, you do have to disclose the arrest and you might be denied admission. </p>

<p>I know that in at least some states, school districts can only hire teaching applicants who have at least a conditional or provisional license. Getting that license may require you to disclose arrests or be fingerprinted. Fingerprinting may turn up certain types of arrests. So, the school district can’t ask you about an arrest, but you can be denied a teaching license if you were arrested for pedophilia or distribution of child pornography, etc. I don’t know if that’s the rule in all states, but I do know it IS the rule in SOME states.</p>

<p>A number of jobs require that the person holding them be bonded. So, if you applied for a job as a bank teller, it may be illegal in a state for the bank to ask about arrests. It’s probably not illegal though to require that you be bonded before you start work. The insurance company might ask you whether you have been arrested for larceny. That might be okay. The insurance company isn’t asking the question of a prospective employee, so the question might be permitted. </p>

<p>Let me give a real world example. The parish church I attend has a security guard. The insurance company for the parish requires that the guard be bonded. In the old days, a lot of pastors employed people who had troubled pasts as sacristans, janitors, security guards, etc. When one of these folks took off with the collection or the money in the poor boxes or the chalice, crucifix, tabernacle or other items made of precious metals, the pastors put in insurance claims. </p>

<p>So, the insurance companies, or at least the one my parish deals with, requires that the security guards, janitors, etc. be bonded or be hired by a licensed security company which is insured and which agrees to indemnify the insurance company if one of the guards it provides steals. I don’t know the small print, but the net effect is that, while the parish may not ask if the security guards have been arrested, as a practical matter, if you’ve been arrested for larceny, there’s no way you can get one of these positions. You can’t be bonded and if you can’t, the parish can’t get insurance.</p>

<p>This isn’t intended to be legal advice. I’m just pointing out that whether employers can ask about arrests depends upon state law. Those laws vary. I’m also pointing out that even if the employer can’t ask about arrests, there’s still a chance that an arrest could keep you from getting a job.</p>