Can a background check be used to fire me, after 5+ years with a company ?
I have been a subcontractor for a major company for over five years. I have worked in very sensitive areas, including local law enforcement offices, banks, business'..all while representing this company. I have never had a complaint or anything of the sort filed against me. I haven't been jailed or charged with a crime. Someone who scours the mugshots available online discovered I had a drug charge 7 years ago, My record,along with several other people's, sent it to the company, and I got fired.
I was also 'blackballed' from the entire divison, which effectively ends my career. Do I have any recourse ?
Answer:
You should consult with a seasoned ACLU attorney. I think you have a strong case and may be entitled to job reinstatement along with back pay.
If you lied to get the job which includes not telling the whole story when filling out applications and signing employment contracts etc. they have the right to fire you. Too Bad
Goes to show that bad decisions follow you around a long time.
Get in touch with your local Division of Labor and Workforce Development and ask them. They'll let you know if you have anything and what you can do about it.
companies can do whatever they please,,,
I would say you might have a recourse as long you haven't lied on the original application . But since you have had clean record for 5 years I would say that you shoud get your job back . You should get yourself a good lawyer in labour relation . God luck in your situation .
Not really you should have declared that when you were hired and while they were doing your sf86, basicly you lied on your app. by failing to mention that. I work for dod and I had a drug charge from a few yrs back that I mentioned and I got my clearence. Look sorry to hear what happened but that info is public record now a days and you should have know that if you were charged and went to court it was going to show up on a back ground check. A clearance is only good for 5yrs and then they have to run a check on you, I see that same thing happen to people that work @ the navy shipyard where I work some have quite a bit of time in there so best advice is DO NOT lie or fail to mention anything like that or finanical info because they WILL find out and you see what can happen.
In my opinion, it's only fair for a person to be fired over a criminal charge if he lied about it on his job application. If it's so important to your company that no employee ever have any kinds of brushes with the law whatsoever in their entire lives, they should have asked about it on the job application, not later on after 5+ years of loyal service (especially if there was no conviction). However, I don't think the law is on your side. Unfortunately in the U.S. all private employees work strictly "at-will". Our labor laws are still mostly based on 1700's British common law, back in the days when the employer-employee relationship was synonymous with the master-servant relationship. An employer can spontaneously make any rules and fire you for any reason he wants (or no reason at all), so long as he is not violating a term in a contract he's made with you, or not firing you for a reason that's specifically prohibited by law (discrimination against race, gender, age, handicap, religion, etc).
i believe they need your signature to obtain a background check. but they could just fire you for not signing. your employer has the right to fire you for a fair reason, a good reason, or even a bad reason. Just like you have the right to quit for any reason, anytime. with or without notice.
There is no protection for prior criminal history; just because it did not turn up in subsequent background checks does due to the company they hired not doing an adequate job in finding the information, or even finding the information and disregarding it at the time due to your qualifications...it became and issue and reflection on the their company when someone "discovered" and made an issue out of it you had a prior drug charge 7 years ago.
Best recourse is go on to live a successful life, even if you do end up having to change fields or move to another location. If you have been clean ever since and indicate how remorselful you are about youthful indiscretions, have turned your life around, willing to submit to drug testing if they ask, have a strong work ethic and track history, you can parlay that into a new job or career as there is somebody out there that will give you chance.
It could be a good time to go to the library, get all the information you can about starting a business in something you want to do come up with a strong business plan and maybe even start your own business. A former client that had been a alcoholic and in trouble with the law when he was younger and had trouble finding a job after getting dry, going to school and learning a trade but could not find a job because of his criminal record did just that and he has now been in business for over 25 years and it has been very successful and he had been very patient in supportive in giving other "underdog" employees a chance, reimbursement the for schooling and helped them to lead very successful lives also.
Here is a link to the SBA:
http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/...
Here is a link to SCORE, which is a non-profit org. that has access to retired execs in many fields that can help people with informaton on starting there own business:
http://www.score.org/
Well if you disclosed it you might very well have a case. So get a lawyer.
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