To hire, or not to hire?

[ckg1990]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Pennsylvania

I had an interview the other day for a car salesman position at a used car dealership in Philadelphia, PA (where I currently reside). However, I am a bit nervous about what the results of their criminal background check will reveal. I currently have three "offenses" that as far as I know are still circulating on my record and that I have not fully paid the fines for yet. The offenses are:

Traffic Violation (A ticket for turning while in the wrong lane and for not having a side mirror or a rearview mirror, the tickets were $113 each.)

Public Drunkeness (For being loud and obnoxious outside of a bar, I was not arrested but given a 90 dollar citation)

Criminal Mischief (I broke an old wooden bench outside of a barber shop one night when I was angry and recieved a fine, please note the bench was vauled at around 75 dollars)

Please be aware that I have not paid any of these fines off in full yet. I was never arrested for any of these offenses (nor have I ever been arrested in my life) however I am consistantly getting letters in the mail pressuring me to start to pay the fines (which is hard because I have a lot of immediate credit card debt to pay right now).

Basically, I would really appreciate some advice/insight as to whether or not these offenses could prevent me from being hired as a car salesman at the used car dealership. Please note that they have already offered me the job (but i did not commit to it because I still have two more interviews with two other dealerships later in the week) and they asked me if I had anything on my record that might prevent them from hiring me. I responded "I have some unpaid fines that I need to take care of" they laughed and said "No nothing like that we mean serious stuff like theft, rape, murder, things like that".

All responses are greatly appreciated in alleviating some of my concerns/anxiety about my chances of passing the background check. Thanks for reading!

 

[eerelations]

Employers may legally refuse to hire you for any/all of these offences. Whether this particular employer will refuse to hire you for these offences is strictly up to the employer.

 

[Beth3]

Basically, I would really appreciate some advice/insight as to whether or not these offenses could prevent me from being hired as a car salesman at the used car dealership.

Yes, they could. You've started down a path of demonstrating irresponsible behavior, plus you haven't paid the fines. Whether this will be an issue for this prospective employer is up to them.

 

[cbg]

Are you asking if they COULD or if they WOULD?

Yes, they COULD. Whether they WOULD is unknown.

 

[ESteele]

Ex-offenders who have duly paid their debts to society often find it extremely difficult to obtain employment. In contrast, you have not satisfied the minimal fines levied against you for these violations and/or misdemeanors.

If you want your employment prospects to improve, you will want to find a way to pay off these fines as soon as possible. Once you have paid the fines, you may want to explore having these offenses expunged.

FWIW, management at a car dealership may be justifiably leery at allowing an individual access to its vehicles who (1) has multiple moving violations; (2) has been guilty of drunken disorderly conduct; and (3) has destroyed (public or private) property “when angry.” Again, if you can eventually get these matters expunged, it would behoove you to do so.

 

[Betty]

All responses are greatly appreciated in alleviating some of my concerns/anxiety about my chances of passing the background check.

Whether the offenses will show up on a background check depends on the type & how thorough of a background check the employer does.

An employer knowing of the offenses whether by background check, you telling them or they find out about them in some other way, may or may not hire you. It would depend on the employer - their decision.

 

[ecmst12]

I would suggest placing these fines above your other bills in the priority rating.