Expungement & Employment

[andox]

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

6 years ago I was arrested for work related grand theft. I plead guilty to the charges and was convicted of a felony. About six months prior, my convictions were reduced to a misdemeanor, and a couple years later I expunged the convictions.

Questions 1: Is there a way to check my background to see if my records come up, especially when it comes to employment?

Question 2: One a job applications where it asks, "Have you been arrested or convicted of a crime?" Do I reply yes, or can I say no?

 

[HighwayMan]

What kid of job is asking that question on their application, just curious?

Well, you were arrested and convicted of a crime. How do YOU think you should answer? Even if the conviction "disappeared", you were still arrested, right?

 

[andox]

Almost all jobs I have applied for asks this question. I'm just wondering if I am legally obligated to say yes even if the records were expunged.

 

[HighwayMan]

Apparently you are supposed to be truthful about the arrest since they are asking about it. Otherwise the question would just ask about convictions.

For a private employer you probably aren't legally obligated to answer truthfully. However, they are not legally obligated not to terminate you if they discover you lied on your application.

 

[CdwJava]

Questions 1: Is there a way to check my background to see if my records come up, especially when it comes to employment?

Most private employers do NOT have access to your state criminal offender record. However, they CAN access local court records, or they can pay for background searches by companies that obtain those records. These records usually go back for 7 years. If expunged, the records held by these data collection firms may still exist without the record of expungement. You might have to go through and serve the order of expungement to each and every company you can find that might have mined this data from the local court where you were convicted.

Question 2: One a job applications where it asks, "Have you been arrested or convicted of a crime?" Do I reply yes, or can I say no?

In CA, most private employers can NOT ask about arrests - they can only ask about convictions.

 

[CdwJava]

Almost all jobs I have applied for asks this question. I'm just wondering if I am legally obligated to say yes even if the records were expunged.

Most private employers cannot ask about arrests. if they are doing so, they are violating the Labor Code. As for convictions, if you have been granted an expungement, then for that conviction you may answer, "No."

This link describes the situation in some detail, and provides additional resources:

California Courts: Self-Help Center: More Topics: Criminal Law: Clean Up Your Criminal Record