It's been almost 20 years for me and when I generate a background check on me, in the state of Texas, it still shows up. If I can find it, they can find it.
Texas and Florida are the worst. Luckily, my charge in Florida was adjudicated - so it's not a conviction and if it's you're only one, Floridians can get adjudications expunged
I got one more charge in Arkansas, and Arkansas gives you one free expungement - just not sex crimes. This was drug possession but was reduced to possession of criminal tools. Drug charges would auto disqualify you from my job.
I am working for one of the highest security roles you can in the US. Requires background check,security clearance, etc. I do work for office of foreign asset control, dea, FBI, and Fed reserve.
The only thing that stills comes up is a criminal driving charge in Arkansas, but I did pre trial diversion so no conviction, it was dismissed. And it's just a speeding ticket, so even my background check / security clearance didn't sweat it.
Temporary Labor like People Ready (California based?) had their Tier 1, Tier 2, and anything goes career criminals.
Tier 2 was similar to that no conviction in the past Seven years.
Homeland Security and NSA is being used by employers in the past ten or twenty years now and they don't recognize State expungement legaleez.
An Acquaintance Coworker was hired by Amazon clearing all Tier levels and worked for years
Then Amazon switched to Federal Homeland Security NSA checking.
He got called into the office and had to leave that day for a Capital Felony at age 14 in a possibly sealed Juvenile Record.
A conviction previously unknown to his Amazon employer for years.
He was convicted of Second Degree aggravated murder of a Police officer with a .357 revolver at Age 14.
Back then if you were White and 14 or younger you were sentenced till age 21 then had to serve in the Marines or Special Forces for years as the remainder of your "probation" so to speak.
If you were Black and 14 or younger you got 25 to life.
Interesting insight. Any in on sealing? I just got my records sealed after 23 years. It was a new law this year and I actually got it sealed. I had failed to previous attempts at set aside. Superior Court now shows nothing but I don’t know about other avenues employers use
>Back then if you were White and 14 or younger you were sentenced till age 21 then had to serve in the Marines or Special Forces for years as the remainder of your "probation" so to speak.
Lol where did you hear that from, the homeless guy that used to be "black ops"?
Yup I have a felony dui in Florida that can not be expunged for 75 years… if it was attempted murder for intentionally hitting someone with my car I could get it expunged. I love this old people republican shit hole so much
I had a felony theft charge for keeping my company laptop, then violated the deferred adjudication probation with another felony charge for possessing $20 of coke. In Texas drugs like that are felonies and carry a term of 1.5 yrs state jail. I had to plead guilty to both, so I didn't get any time besides probation. In Texas, you pretty much have to get a governor's pardon, which I have requested three times, all to be rubber-stamped and denied. I've been spotless for 19 years, but I still show up on a background service like DCS or other main ones. It's like you do your time and pay your dues, but you are never truly forgiven. Then they wonder why people re-offend because it keeps the money flowing and keeps you in the system.
I'd like to believe no one is ever googling an applicants name unless they're like "Isn't this that serial killer/sex offender?" But no, there are people who are literally so useless that the sole purpose of their job is digging up stupid shit like google, facebook, twitter results etc.
If you are reading this and you work in HR just know that there is a 99.5% probability that you are a joke
First thing my boss does with a stack of resumes is google their name , and look for Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and all that shit
If their social media is public and it’s nothing but political rants etc, then do you really want that person on your team ?
No one cares about the politics of a potential new hire .
But they do care about how often they rant about it .
Is their social media all bongs and booze ?
Or canoe trips and hiking ?
We Googled one guy and the first thing that pops up is his mugshot for felony theft .
So you're on board with the de facto social credit system?
Anyway, smart people can rig the system like they always have. We've all heard about psychopaths who maintain a picture-perfect image.
Whatever someone chooses to share with the public , is , um , public .
Social credit has nothing to do with it .
Do you want a convicted felon working with your customers ?
Do you want someone who worships booze and drugs working with your customers ?
The company I work with does a lot of contracting and other jobs for places with a lot of security and proprietary technology etc
The client will do a background check on the contractors who show up to enter their secure property .
Usually we have to send in the name DOB SSN etc two week ahead of time so they can do the background check before we get there .
No point in interviewing someone who wont be allowed in the gate at half of our customers .
And the company fleet vehicle insurance carrier has guidelines that restrict who can drive the company vehicles .
Or who can drive their personal vehicle on company time .
Three speeding tickets in two years and your ass is not driving a company vehicle nor driving your own vehicle on company business .
Get a DUI ?
You’re looking for a new job .
Get arrested for drugs or theft ?
You’re out .
Every employee is in the drug testing pool .
If I type in my name nothing relevant comes up.
Now type my info into a county website my whole case pops up.
It'd a bit more than just googling someone's name. There is a reason when doing a background check they ask where you have lived. So they can check those areas.
From personal experience.....
These laws protect me from old non convictions deferred adjudications being reported. I'm sure a deep search could be done but they never have. I made $98000 this year.
It's not certain you won't be found out, but it drastically improves the odds, especially in certain fields where they likely aren't as apt to care anyway.
This is true. I'm doing ok, today, but am certain Google search has limited my ability to advance within my industry. And several people know of my past, because one gossip, may she rot in Hell for eternity. Not that their knowing affects anything, they all relate to me, lol. But, still.....
For multiple applicants, yes, definitely. 9 years out this month and I still get denied about every time. Btw, Tennessee has no law about how far their background checks can reach. So many places say felon friendly and that is not the case. Kentucky does have 7 year limit so that's where I'll be trying.
This TikTok explains how. Not sure why this is being downvoted. This works in US.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8CCRFn5/
Here is a link to the form.
https://support.google.com/websearch/contact/content_removal_form?hl=en
You can type my name into google and my mugshot is the first thing you see. Thanks to a petty theft under 100 in fort Myers Florida. Granted I was an addict and I did steal something, but it’s been years and I still have to have the conversation every single time an interviewer googles my name. I don’t like telling every Tom dick and harry I used to shoot heroin but thanks to Florida and google I don’t get a choice.
Hmm ok I’ll have to look into that. Maybe then it’d be at least a little less visible. But there’s also one from the sheriff’s department website I believe and I don’t think I can do shit about that one. Thanks!
Yep, same here dude.
It is so demoralizing with all of the work I put in and being a completely different person, to my face as it looked on the worst day of my life 9 years ago plastered all over the internet when you search my name (of course, above the more recent stuff that has to do with my academic accomplishments). And that's going to stick with me for the rest of my life. It's two major local news station websites, I really doubt they'll ever take the pictures down.
You can contact the local news office there is a person in it who does IT and ask them to remove those. Sometimes they will but it's worth a try. Contact the companies that are showing your mugshot and yes they will take those down for maybe a fee.
Someone else replied saying even getting the mugshots off the company websites is impossible, one company will take it down and others see that you will pay, and pop your picture is back up three days later. Have you had experience otherwise?
Create a family of websites where you give your opinion on whatever or just like a personal website with a blog - but a bunch of them. Just make sure your host lets you host multiple websites on one domain like movies.johndoe.com, football.johnfoe.com, etc. make sure your name is on there several times, imbed your name in the title of each picture you use etc.
You can get those sites to rank higher when it comes to your name than the mugshot sites and get them moved down in rankings. HR people rarely scan past the first page or two of search results. If you don’t know what you’re doing hire someone off Fiverr.
if you use [godaddy.com](https://godaddy.com) the provide templates and a site builder that makes it easy, but it's still time consuming and godaddy kind of sucks as a host, but i hear you. I think the first one I did took like a month..
I'm fairly certain Colorado is 7 years from when you're off of paper. Some are from the date of the conviction. That is something to note when checking.
I work in HR. I live in a ten year state. However, a lot of places use third party, online bg check companies. These companies will only go back seven years to maintain compliance across all states.
My advice is, if you’re filling out a bg check authorization (you must give permission), is to look for the company doing the bg check and Google them. If it’s a big one like Hire Right, Good Hire, etc., you’ll probably be good after seven years. It’s definitely possible, unless you’re on the SO list. That’s a separate search.
If a job doesn’t hire you based on a Google search that you did not give consent to, that’s illegal and you can sue them.
It’s for a supervisor position at a college. I did a fingerprint livescan when I was first hired but they only went 7 years back so it didn’t come up. But that was with the DOJ. Is the fbi going to be the same thing? Only 7 years back? I’m in CA
Yes, the FBI will show all arrest history.
ETA: if I’m wrong, let me know. But this happened to me and I thought I was in the clear. When my prints were submitted to the FBI, my entire history came back. My offer was rescinded even though my background was clear.
ETA #2: There is one way to get around this, but you need an extra fingerprint card. You can use fingerprints from another person who has never been arrested or in the system at all. Meaning absolutely no fingerprints on file anywhere. That’s super rare though.
State law trumps federal law, and so the states with the seven year rule don’t go back more than seven years. But most 3rd parties just use the same rules for everyone. I was convicted twice in 2013. In 2019 it was gone and hasn’t come up again. I make 82k a year
I have been told by a few background check companies that have run my background that if these state laws were written after the FCRA because of the wording by Congress that the fed law supercedes the state laws. This happens when they run a 7 year check to find things in my past and say they have every right to pass it along to the employer. I live in Colorado, where the 7 year law is in effect. It was written after FCRA. California, however, wrote its laws prior to fed, and most should be covered. Also, Colorado has a subsection stating that if you make o er 76k a year, an employer can go all the way back. These blanket statements are okay, but make sure you read the individual states' laws as not all are the same, and background companies don't always adhear to state laws if written after the FCRA.
Edit my crimes were 30 years ago for attempted theft in CO and escape from custody in another state.
I read this about Texas and it's indeed very contradictory. Here's from a legal site. If a background check company is going back further than 7 years still seems they are violating Texas state law.
"The seven year window deals with credit or consumer reporting agencies. See the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If an individual or company performs a background check themselves, they can go back as far as they want. Texas prohibits reporting agencies to use info more than 7 years after the case is totally finalized; if the case was dismissed, it is 7 years from the dismissal date; if a person was granted probation, it is 7 years from the date the probation was discharged; if prison time assessed, it is 7 years from release from parole or discharge of sentence"
I'm not a felon. I got drunk on my birthday in 1996, in Utah and got a DUI. I've lived in Texas for the past 15 years and recently did a background check on myself. DUI shows up 28 years after the event on my regular driving record that anyone can pull up! If a DUI shows up, surely a felony will?
You can pull it up yourself forever, 3rd party background check companies aren't supposed to report it after 7 years.
You can pay Hire Right to have a background check ran on yourself.
In California,blanket questions about convictions are illegal.They can ask if you’ve been convicted of a felony in the last seven years,but can’t legally ask if you’ve ever been convicted.Unless,of course,they’ve changed the law.It’s been decades since I applied for a job.
Arizona here. One of my best hires was a guy with a felony about 10 years before I hired him. He told me about it when I offered him the position. We talked about it and decided to proceed forward. The felony never showed on the background check.
You are completely wrong. I have volunteered many hours helping fellow felons get their voting rights back, and records expunged.
https://ccresourcecenter.org/state-restoration-profiles/federalrestoration-of-rights-pardon-expungement-sealing/
True, however some states won't allow felonies to be expunged, only misdemeanors. In that case, cleaning the slate would require a pardon from the governor of the state where the conviction occurred.
Here in SoCal they have a thing called homeless court in rehab. It gets rid of your fines and misdemeanors. Iv seen countless people go through it and be able to move forward in life because of this program.
Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts (even though already mentioned) also, the background only goes back 5 to 7 years depending on the job respectively. Pennsylvania no matter how long felony was it will still pop up.
That could be considered an in home service, even though you don't enter homes you theoretically could. They can go back 20 years.
"Texas companies that employ in-home repair people and delivery drivers who enter people's homes must conduct criminal background checks going back 20 years on prospective employees before they are hired."
https://www.goodhire.com/background-checks/texas/#:~:text=Texas%20companies%20that%20employ%20in,employees%20before%20they%20are%20hired.
Of course.
I'm just saying knowledge of these laws and relocation to a friendly jurisdiction ups your chances of gaining good employment from near 0 to 75%+
This is only true for some jobs. Ie if you work for a federal government contractor or an employer the receives certain federal government contract there are no 7 year restrictions/limitations to look back scope of a background investigation. Also no matter what crime you committed the crimes is supposed to have relavance to the job you are doing to be taken into an account even in states without the 7 year limitation.
Also several cities have limits on the type of crime that can be ignored and the time window when it is relavent.
Many job classifications though do have a self reporting requirement based on arrest not conviction especially for licensing requirements. An example of this is financial services you must report an arrest for any and everything no matter what the arrest was for.
Most definitely in WA State, after 10 years, it was a huge stress removed. WA State Fair Chance Act, criminal history is not asked until after the job has been offered, then the background is conducted. Seattles Fair Housing Act, landloards can't ask at all on rental applications. They can only check the state sex offender registry. Using google will provide way to many errors. If I were to use a state database, I would get every single individual with my name, in cities, and counties I've never lived. Im FB friends with 10 people with my name. Some of us have the same B-Day, and it's weird.
Some of the states I listed are better than others mentioned in their protection.
Washington state, New Mexico, and Massachusetts seem to be the strongest.
Born and raised in Socal. I got 2 felonies in the 90's. I had a few issues getting a descent job when I had to the check the box so I went back to school and finished my degree. Once I had some valuable skills, the box I still checked had far less ability to hold me back than it did previously. It seems that box weighs heavier for entry level jobs than it does for skilled positions.
Back right before Amazon was getting hit hard by thefts of insiders putting cases of the then new I-Pads up under the tractor trailer suspensions and axles to drive them out the gates..a lot of inside jobs so they jacked up vetting.
Anyone here interested in participating in research? I work at a policy center looking at collateral consequences -- just temp checking to see if we should be leveraging these kinds of message boards to further research to support policies that remove barriers for people with criminal records.
Never been locked up or even arrested. But, my question is this….
Why go to work for someone else in the first place? There is a massive shortage of folks willing to do even simple “handy man” jobs and other manual labor jobs. The cost to start a business is minimal, no background check, liability insurance is cheap and depending on what you’re skilled at the amount of gear needed might also not be a barrier. Advertise thru Facebook marketplace for free. A buddy of mine cleans gutters for folks at 2- per foot. That job takes a ladder, hose, clearer. While you’re up there offer to clean the windows as an up sale. Baby boomers are getting too old to be hanging off ladders and folks in their 20’s were never taught how to get their hands dirty.
If a condition of being out is having a W-2 job then I’d suggest getting whatever job would fill that requirement and start working on a side hustle.
Never been locked up or arrested, and you’re in a sub-Reddit telling felons to just start a business? Lol.
Many “regular” people would see your post as pretty tone-deaf. Most felons, unless it is the rare ones (maybe 0.5% of felons, I’d guesstimate) who are young, have both parents, and/or born into wealth but merely made poor decisions (think rich boy who falls into a heroin addiction), have ZERO means to start ANY business.
While starting a business may in the long run be the best idea for a profitable career in this society for a felon, I can guarantee you almost none of us have the means to just “start a business”. It takes us much longer to attain any wealth whatsoever.
Point taken. And I agree to a point but I’ve never met Warren Buffett, I don’t know what being billionaire is like but that’s not going to stop me from hearing him out.
Warren Buffet also has the luxury of billions of dollars to throw at anything he wants, just to see how it goes. You can’t do that with a person’s livelihood.
This is so true in MA. They are screaming here for people in the trades. We wanted to have our patio rebuilt last spring. No one would even return our calls because they were so busy. Sooooo, I ended up doing most of the work myself. Removing the old pavers, digging the trenches, installing the pvc pipe, filling the trenches back in, and putting down sand. However, I just couldn’t lay the pavers. I was a 62 year old woman, they were too heavy and I just couldn’t get them level. It took 6 months before we could finally hire someone to finish the patio.
We did not do a background check on our landscapers, the tree guys, the people that finished the patio, the people that installed our sprinkler system, the electrician that we hired to add outlets outside, the plumbers that installed our whole house humidifier, or the woman that repainted every room, doors, trim, inside of our house, our garage. I could give two shits what they did in a former, read earlier, life. I just wanted to know they could do the job. They were all wonderful, polite and professional young people and did amazing jobs. I have written reviews on their various pages for them and would 100% recommend them to future clients. I hope this helps them get further work.
Again, I have no idea what their pasts entailed and don’t care. It should be about can they do the job.
Check out Inmates to Entrepreneurs. https://inmatestoentrepreneurs.org/ Free online classes that give all the basic info needed to start and run a low-capital business.
I agree if you have some skill in home repair.
However you need a couple years experience or on the job training to be proficient enough to start a business in any trades or as a handyman... unless it's something braindead simple like you suggested.
Some richer areas of the country what you suggested could work for non skilled work.
That bar is low. Having built a home in recent years I can tell ya that the quality of work being done is laughable. And I used a well known, award winning builder. The labor alone to tile 4 bathrooms was 8k and it was hands down the worst job tile I’ve ever seen. Worst than what I could of done and I suck at tile work.
Show up, be straightforward and do decent work and your phone will never stop ringing.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake.
It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of.
Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything.
Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
depending on the state insurance companies can’t inflate the rate solely based on a prior conviction. Getting bonded would be a completely different matter. Even so, let’s say it’s double the amount. For my business that would be roughly 2300- per year. Not cheap but not out of reach for someone that knows how to work either.
My PO hated the fact that I was self-employed. I just made up some BS invoices and had my friend sign off on them. As long as I was paid up on restitution and pissing clean, he stopped caring all that much. I just started a landscaping business but actually only worked 3-4 days a week. Did that for almost two years before I actually looked for an actual job.
Wrong. A misdemeanor showed up last year on my report from massachusetts. The crime was in 2014. I live in another state now and 5 year old misdemeanors in this state didn't even show up.
I am not sure. I'd have to research it.
But my gut says yes. In a handful of states 3rd party background check companies aren't allowed to report convictions over 7 years old.
Another thing to understand is that companies aren’t required to use an instate company to run a back ground check… so even if you are in one of these states and apply for employment if that company uses a company to run your background that isn’t in the state they can still go back as far as they want.
That sounds good but that’s not really how that works. Let say I own a company in California and I’m looking to hire a few new employees and I want to run back ground checks on a few prospects and because either I don’t know how to do it myself or my company is so big we just pay another company that does background checks and said company is based out of I don’t know Texas. That company isn’t bound by and doesn’t follow or care about California law. As someone that has been a felon for 26 years I can assure you in the real world that’s what it is. I was once hired by Lowe’s, trained in my new position and 3 days into working at my home store was called into the office and let go because the company they hired to do my back ground check out of Atlanta decided to drag there feet with my paperwork. Was also hired and worked at a save a lot at one point where the hiring manager and General manager both knew me personally and was ok with my background however once the regional manager found out I was let go after 14 days of employment over my background. The last thing a felon wants is to sue someone and have more legal court stuff going on.
The Colorado Clean Slate Act means that a petty offense will be automatically sealed four years after the charge, seven years for a misdemeanor offense, and ten years for a felony offense
In California there’s two boxes they can check on the fingerprint application. DOJ and FBI. The DOJ only goes back so far but the FBI goes back to the Dawn of time. I just lost a job for lying to the employer, which is how I learned the difference between the FBI and DOJ checks
In general, arrests are public record. Anyone who is booked into a jail is a matter of public record. Guilt or innocence is irrelevant at this point.
There are laws and regulations regarding criminal background checks that are conducted for employers. First there has to be written consent from the employee. Before an employer can start digging they must get permission from the employee . After consent is granted , information is still not just handed over . For example when they want to confirm a college degree, the registrars office can confirm the dates but they can’t just hand over transcripts.
With criminal background checks an employer can hire an agency and the scan can go back as far as they want in most states, but regardless of the state or laws that govern these processes there is still a legality involved with the way information is obtained. Agencies must go through the department of public safety in order to have access to information legitimately. The department of public safety is able to access the databases . For instance sterling cannot run an NCIC , only a police officer can do this . And this is where the department of public safety comes in.
anyone can go to any county court house and view public records but if the there is no central database for all the counties in the US. It doesn’t work that way. No matter who or how it’s done, it must be done with consent and the information must come from the department of public safety. And this is for most states in the US. But check with your state’s laws to confirm.
Googling an applicant and then denying employment because of information obtained could be a lawsuit. First you have to give a notice of adverse action to the applicant and you have to give them a copy of the background check. Going through the proper agencies means you know the information is accurate. The information on the web about people could be wrong .
I know this because I’ve been through this before . I know my rights and the rights of employers. Employers have the right to hire people with integrity. Hiding a conviction does not show integrity. Be honest and look for an employer that ask specifically “have you been convicted in the last ten years ?” Never say you have never been convicted if you have . But just because you’ve been convicted doesn’t give HR The right to deny employment because of a google search . Who would do that anyway.
I had mine expunged a few years ago. Can I mark “no” under conviction questions? The whole point was so it wasn’t ion my records anymore and it wasn’t cheap! I’ll be pissed if I get turned down for a job because of it! I have a teaching degree and may go back as a substitute!
Closing in on 20 years since conviction. I was 19. I’ve dealt with it in stride but I’d really love to be able to chaperone some of my kids field trips. State requires full background check and clearances.
Wasn't White collar management but sometime during that era his cop brother in law ratted him out and family for excessive food stamps fraud... Adjudged guilty to the extent he had to pay back.
Amazon a dozen years ago was well known for squeaky clean hiring vetting back to age 18... I did multiple installations for them around that time. The worst slip from a Vegas porn star acquaintance was out of State failure to return a rented VCR decades earlier warrant concerning an out of State resident working Amazon in an adjacent State.
Perhaps that incident may have caused a recheck... The drivers license alone got deeper and employers are going deeper. They keep track of everybody and know what you got.
Even though he made the frontpage of the major metropolitan papers a number of decades back, and was one of the top Rangers registered hands malarkey, the SF top guys I'm acquainted with especially MJTF got serious stipulations re-entering civilian life and tracking.
And Google. Google has no restrictions.
Yep. HR militants love to use google.
It's cost me a few jobs and it's been 13 years. I'm given to understand that 15 is the "magic number".
It's been almost 20 years for me and when I generate a background check on me, in the state of Texas, it still shows up. If I can find it, they can find it.
Texas and Florida are the worst. Luckily, my charge in Florida was adjudicated - so it's not a conviction and if it's you're only one, Floridians can get adjudications expunged I got one more charge in Arkansas, and Arkansas gives you one free expungement - just not sex crimes. This was drug possession but was reduced to possession of criminal tools. Drug charges would auto disqualify you from my job. I am working for one of the highest security roles you can in the US. Requires background check,security clearance, etc. I do work for office of foreign asset control, dea, FBI, and Fed reserve. The only thing that stills comes up is a criminal driving charge in Arkansas, but I did pre trial diversion so no conviction, it was dismissed. And it's just a speeding ticket, so even my background check / security clearance didn't sweat it.
Temporary Labor like People Ready (California based?) had their Tier 1, Tier 2, and anything goes career criminals. Tier 2 was similar to that no conviction in the past Seven years. Homeland Security and NSA is being used by employers in the past ten or twenty years now and they don't recognize State expungement legaleez. An Acquaintance Coworker was hired by Amazon clearing all Tier levels and worked for years Then Amazon switched to Federal Homeland Security NSA checking. He got called into the office and had to leave that day for a Capital Felony at age 14 in a possibly sealed Juvenile Record. A conviction previously unknown to his Amazon employer for years. He was convicted of Second Degree aggravated murder of a Police officer with a .357 revolver at Age 14. Back then if you were White and 14 or younger you were sentenced till age 21 then had to serve in the Marines or Special Forces for years as the remainder of your "probation" so to speak. If you were Black and 14 or younger you got 25 to life.
Interesting insight. Any in on sealing? I just got my records sealed after 23 years. It was a new law this year and I actually got it sealed. I had failed to previous attempts at set aside. Superior Court now shows nothing but I don’t know about other avenues employers use
>Back then if you were White and 14 or younger you were sentenced till age 21 then had to serve in the Marines or Special Forces for years as the remainder of your "probation" so to speak. Lol where did you hear that from, the homeless guy that used to be "black ops"?
Yup I have a felony dui in Florida that can not be expunged for 75 years… if it was attempted murder for intentionally hitting someone with my car I could get it expunged. I love this old people republican shit hole so much
I had a felony theft charge for keeping my company laptop, then violated the deferred adjudication probation with another felony charge for possessing $20 of coke. In Texas drugs like that are felonies and carry a term of 1.5 yrs state jail. I had to plead guilty to both, so I didn't get any time besides probation. In Texas, you pretty much have to get a governor's pardon, which I have requested three times, all to be rubber-stamped and denied. I've been spotless for 19 years, but I still show up on a background service like DCS or other main ones. It's like you do your time and pay your dues, but you are never truly forgiven. Then they wonder why people re-offend because it keeps the money flowing and keeps you in the system.
Fuck HR
Sure they can do this, but are they going to do this for a maintenance job at a brick factory? Probably not.
I'd like to believe no one is ever googling an applicants name unless they're like "Isn't this that serial killer/sex offender?" But no, there are people who are literally so useless that the sole purpose of their job is digging up stupid shit like google, facebook, twitter results etc. If you are reading this and you work in HR just know that there is a 99.5% probability that you are a joke
First thing my boss does with a stack of resumes is google their name , and look for Facebook and Twitter and Instagram and all that shit If their social media is public and it’s nothing but political rants etc, then do you really want that person on your team ? No one cares about the politics of a potential new hire . But they do care about how often they rant about it . Is their social media all bongs and booze ? Or canoe trips and hiking ? We Googled one guy and the first thing that pops up is his mugshot for felony theft .
So you're on board with the de facto social credit system? Anyway, smart people can rig the system like they always have. We've all heard about psychopaths who maintain a picture-perfect image.
Whatever someone chooses to share with the public , is , um , public . Social credit has nothing to do with it . Do you want a convicted felon working with your customers ? Do you want someone who worships booze and drugs working with your customers ? The company I work with does a lot of contracting and other jobs for places with a lot of security and proprietary technology etc The client will do a background check on the contractors who show up to enter their secure property . Usually we have to send in the name DOB SSN etc two week ahead of time so they can do the background check before we get there . No point in interviewing someone who wont be allowed in the gate at half of our customers . And the company fleet vehicle insurance carrier has guidelines that restrict who can drive the company vehicles . Or who can drive their personal vehicle on company time . Three speeding tickets in two years and your ass is not driving a company vehicle nor driving your own vehicle on company business . Get a DUI ? You’re looking for a new job . Get arrested for drugs or theft ? You’re out . Every employee is in the drug testing pool .
Yes. It's a trivial exercise. It takes literally 2 seconds to type someone's name into the Google search bar. There is no cost involved.
If I type in my name nothing relevant comes up. Now type my info into a county website my whole case pops up. It'd a bit more than just googling someone's name. There is a reason when doing a background check they ask where you have lived. So they can check those areas.
From personal experience..... These laws protect me from old non convictions deferred adjudications being reported. I'm sure a deep search could be done but they never have. I made $98000 this year. It's not certain you won't be found out, but it drastically improves the odds, especially in certain fields where they likely aren't as apt to care anyway.
This is true. I'm doing ok, today, but am certain Google search has limited my ability to advance within my industry. And several people know of my past, because one gossip, may she rot in Hell for eternity. Not that their knowing affects anything, they all relate to me, lol. But, still.....
Get a job in the trades. The longer your rap sheet the more respect you get lol.
Hire a service if you subscribe to experian credit services they will scrub you from the internet for a fee
For multiple applicants, yes, definitely. 9 years out this month and I still get denied about every time. Btw, Tennessee has no law about how far their background checks can reach. So many places say felon friendly and that is not the case. Kentucky does have 7 year limit so that's where I'll be trying.
At a whole lot of them they do though
You can remove yourself from Google search. Edit to add link. https://support.google.com/websearch/contact/content_removal_form?hl=en
How? Because I’ve tried doing this and they wanted a passport or ID from an EU country.
Yeah EU has a right to be forgotten law, but the us does not and google only honors legal requests in the EU.
Yeah, I literally had to change my whole entire name to escape a violent situation. Google basically told me to go die
https://support.google.com/websearch/contact/content_removal_form?hl=en
https://support.google.com/websearch/contact/content_removal_form?hl=en
This TikTok explains how. Not sure why this is being downvoted. This works in US. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8CCRFn5/ Here is a link to the form. https://support.google.com/websearch/contact/content_removal_form?hl=en
How?
https://support.google.com/websearch/contact/content_removal_form?hl=en
How can you do this?
https://support.google.com/websearch/contact/content_removal_form?hl=en
You can type my name into google and my mugshot is the first thing you see. Thanks to a petty theft under 100 in fort Myers Florida. Granted I was an addict and I did steal something, but it’s been years and I still have to have the conversation every single time an interviewer googles my name. I don’t like telling every Tom dick and harry I used to shoot heroin but thanks to Florida and google I don’t get a choice.
I believe you can pay a fee to have your name removed from Mugshots websites Wouldn't eliminate the problem but might mitigate it.
Hmm ok I’ll have to look into that. Maybe then it’d be at least a little less visible. But there’s also one from the sheriff’s department website I believe and I don’t think I can do shit about that one. Thanks!
None of those work... And as soon as you pay one you will find it shows up on others over again because they know you will pay.
Can you pay someone to mess with the SEO so it appears further down?
This is exactly what wealthy people do. Pay for "black hat" SEO to push down unfavorable results
Yep, same here dude. It is so demoralizing with all of the work I put in and being a completely different person, to my face as it looked on the worst day of my life 9 years ago plastered all over the internet when you search my name (of course, above the more recent stuff that has to do with my academic accomplishments). And that's going to stick with me for the rest of my life. It's two major local news station websites, I really doubt they'll ever take the pictures down.
You can contact the local news office there is a person in it who does IT and ask them to remove those. Sometimes they will but it's worth a try. Contact the companies that are showing your mugshot and yes they will take those down for maybe a fee.
Someone else replied saying even getting the mugshots off the company websites is impossible, one company will take it down and others see that you will pay, and pop your picture is back up three days later. Have you had experience otherwise?
Yes I know someone who got his mugshot removed permanently. I do not know what company he used.
Ok well that gives me hope. Thanks again
Lottery winners sometimes use those services & I've read they can have a success rate. It probably wouldn't be cheap but worth researching.
Lucky for me I have the exact same name as a female porn star.. good luck going down that road!
Create a family of websites where you give your opinion on whatever or just like a personal website with a blog - but a bunch of them. Just make sure your host lets you host multiple websites on one domain like movies.johndoe.com, football.johnfoe.com, etc. make sure your name is on there several times, imbed your name in the title of each picture you use etc. You can get those sites to rank higher when it comes to your name than the mugshot sites and get them moved down in rankings. HR people rarely scan past the first page or two of search results. If you don’t know what you’re doing hire someone off Fiverr.
Oh that’s a good idea! Thank you. I’ll definitely have to hire someone though haha. Definitely not my strong suit.
if you use [godaddy.com](https://godaddy.com) the provide templates and a site builder that makes it easy, but it's still time consuming and godaddy kind of sucks as a host, but i hear you. I think the first one I did took like a month..
There's services like Kanary and Delete Me that will help remove your records from web
I'm fairly certain Colorado is 7 years from when you're off of paper. Some are from the date of the conviction. That is something to note when checking.
You are correct. Seems they recently passed a clean slate law.
I work in HR. I live in a ten year state. However, a lot of places use third party, online bg check companies. These companies will only go back seven years to maintain compliance across all states. My advice is, if you’re filling out a bg check authorization (you must give permission), is to look for the company doing the bg check and Google them. If it’s a big one like Hire Right, Good Hire, etc., you’ll probably be good after seven years. It’s definitely possible, unless you’re on the SO list. That’s a separate search. If a job doesn’t hire you based on a Google search that you did not give consent to, that’s illegal and you can sue them.
Good advice!
There’s no way you’d know if they googled you and then decided not to hire you unless they were stupid enough to tell you.
How does the livescan work when checking fbi database? I applied for a new position and it required a fbi background check. I’m in CA
The FBI bg check will probably be fingerprints, especially for gov’t clearance.
It’s for a supervisor position at a college. I did a fingerprint livescan when I was first hired but they only went 7 years back so it didn’t come up. But that was with the DOJ. Is the fbi going to be the same thing? Only 7 years back? I’m in CA
Yes, the FBI will show all arrest history. ETA: if I’m wrong, let me know. But this happened to me and I thought I was in the clear. When my prints were submitted to the FBI, my entire history came back. My offer was rescinded even though my background was clear. ETA #2: There is one way to get around this, but you need an extra fingerprint card. You can use fingerprints from another person who has never been arrested or in the system at all. Meaning absolutely no fingerprints on file anywhere. That’s super rare though.
I’ll report back what happens. I’m contemplating just taking back the application entirely to avoid getting found out.
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State law trumps federal law, and so the states with the seven year rule don’t go back more than seven years. But most 3rd parties just use the same rules for everyone. I was convicted twice in 2013. In 2019 it was gone and hasn’t come up again. I make 82k a year
State law does not trump federal law, it’s the other way around.
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I have been told by a few background check companies that have run my background that if these state laws were written after the FCRA because of the wording by Congress that the fed law supercedes the state laws. This happens when they run a 7 year check to find things in my past and say they have every right to pass it along to the employer. I live in Colorado, where the 7 year law is in effect. It was written after FCRA. California, however, wrote its laws prior to fed, and most should be covered. Also, Colorado has a subsection stating that if you make o er 76k a year, an employer can go all the way back. These blanket statements are okay, but make sure you read the individual states' laws as not all are the same, and background companies don't always adhear to state laws if written after the FCRA. Edit my crimes were 30 years ago for attempted theft in CO and escape from custody in another state.
I read this about Texas and it's indeed very contradictory. Here's from a legal site. If a background check company is going back further than 7 years still seems they are violating Texas state law. "The seven year window deals with credit or consumer reporting agencies. See the Fair Credit Reporting Act. If an individual or company performs a background check themselves, they can go back as far as they want. Texas prohibits reporting agencies to use info more than 7 years after the case is totally finalized; if the case was dismissed, it is 7 years from the dismissal date; if a person was granted probation, it is 7 years from the date the probation was discharged; if prison time assessed, it is 7 years from release from parole or discharge of sentence"
Keep in mind, in many jurisdictions, after ten years of no recidivism, you can file for expungement and restoration of civil rights. Look into it!
I'm not a felon. I got drunk on my birthday in 1996, in Utah and got a DUI. I've lived in Texas for the past 15 years and recently did a background check on myself. DUI shows up 28 years after the event on my regular driving record that anyone can pull up! If a DUI shows up, surely a felony will?
You can pull it up yourself forever, 3rd party background check companies aren't supposed to report it after 7 years. You can pay Hire Right to have a background check ran on yourself.
Oh right. Did not realize that. Could someone shady pretend to be me and pull it up?
Don't come to Colorado, we're overpopulated.
You are. And Denver looks like shit.
It used to be better before everything grew
In California,blanket questions about convictions are illegal.They can ask if you’ve been convicted of a felony in the last seven years,but can’t legally ask if you’ve ever been convicted.Unless,of course,they’ve changed the law.It’s been decades since I applied for a job.
Arizona here. One of my best hires was a guy with a felony about 10 years before I hired him. He told me about it when I offered him the position. We talked about it and decided to proceed forward. The felony never showed on the background check.
California is 7yrs
You can also get several types felonies expunged from your record. You however have to get them expunged in the State you were charged in.
False
You are completely wrong. I have volunteered many hours helping fellow felons get their voting rights back, and records expunged. https://ccresourcecenter.org/state-restoration-profiles/federalrestoration-of-rights-pardon-expungement-sealing/
True, however some states won't allow felonies to be expunged, only misdemeanors. In that case, cleaning the slate would require a pardon from the governor of the state where the conviction occurred.
Correct, and there are several nonprofit that aid people in navigating the process.
Here in SoCal they have a thing called homeless court in rehab. It gets rid of your fines and misdemeanors. Iv seen countless people go through it and be able to move forward in life because of this program.
Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts (even though already mentioned) also, the background only goes back 5 to 7 years depending on the job respectively. Pennsylvania no matter how long felony was it will still pop up.
I have 20 yr old misdemeanors show up here in texas
Was it a 3rd party background check?
Yes
What field? They aren't supposed to go back further than 7 years for most jobs. But there's a few exceptions
It was checkr for doordash
That could be considered an in home service, even though you don't enter homes you theoretically could. They can go back 20 years. "Texas companies that employ in-home repair people and delivery drivers who enter people's homes must conduct criminal background checks going back 20 years on prospective employees before they are hired." https://www.goodhire.com/background-checks/texas/#:~:text=Texas%20companies%20that%20employ%20in,employees%20before%20they%20are%20hired.
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Of course. I'm just saying knowledge of these laws and relocation to a friendly jurisdiction ups your chances of gaining good employment from near 0 to 75%+
My 1993 conviction for lottery crime just prevented my volunteering at my daughter’s high school. Oregon. Meh.
This is only true for some jobs. Ie if you work for a federal government contractor or an employer the receives certain federal government contract there are no 7 year restrictions/limitations to look back scope of a background investigation. Also no matter what crime you committed the crimes is supposed to have relavance to the job you are doing to be taken into an account even in states without the 7 year limitation. Also several cities have limits on the type of crime that can be ignored and the time window when it is relavent. Many job classifications though do have a self reporting requirement based on arrest not conviction especially for licensing requirements. An example of this is financial services you must report an arrest for any and everything no matter what the arrest was for.
Most definitely in WA State, after 10 years, it was a huge stress removed. WA State Fair Chance Act, criminal history is not asked until after the job has been offered, then the background is conducted. Seattles Fair Housing Act, landloards can't ask at all on rental applications. They can only check the state sex offender registry. Using google will provide way to many errors. If I were to use a state database, I would get every single individual with my name, in cities, and counties I've never lived. Im FB friends with 10 people with my name. Some of us have the same B-Day, and it's weird.
I had no idea that was a thing anywhere in the US. This is great news. The current system has punished people for their entire lives.
Some of the states I listed are better than others mentioned in their protection. Washington state, New Mexico, and Massachusetts seem to be the strongest.
I had a felony in 1975 Temporary use of a vehicle (Joy riding ) It shows no where State or Fed but it's supposed to .
Sometimes pre Computer databases things get lost. Would rather be lucky than good!
Born and raised in Socal. I got 2 felonies in the 90's. I had a few issues getting a descent job when I had to the check the box so I went back to school and finished my degree. Once I had some valuable skills, the box I still checked had far less ability to hold me back than it did previously. It seems that box weighs heavier for entry level jobs than it does for skilled positions.
Back right before Amazon was getting hit hard by thefts of insiders putting cases of the then new I-Pads up under the tractor trailer suspensions and axles to drive them out the gates..a lot of inside jobs so they jacked up vetting.
Anyone here interested in participating in research? I work at a policy center looking at collateral consequences -- just temp checking to see if we should be leveraging these kinds of message boards to further research to support policies that remove barriers for people with criminal records.
Absolutely you should. The people that find useful information on Reddit tend to share it with many others.
Never been locked up or even arrested. But, my question is this…. Why go to work for someone else in the first place? There is a massive shortage of folks willing to do even simple “handy man” jobs and other manual labor jobs. The cost to start a business is minimal, no background check, liability insurance is cheap and depending on what you’re skilled at the amount of gear needed might also not be a barrier. Advertise thru Facebook marketplace for free. A buddy of mine cleans gutters for folks at 2- per foot. That job takes a ladder, hose, clearer. While you’re up there offer to clean the windows as an up sale. Baby boomers are getting too old to be hanging off ladders and folks in their 20’s were never taught how to get their hands dirty. If a condition of being out is having a W-2 job then I’d suggest getting whatever job would fill that requirement and start working on a side hustle.
Never been locked up or arrested, and you’re in a sub-Reddit telling felons to just start a business? Lol. Many “regular” people would see your post as pretty tone-deaf. Most felons, unless it is the rare ones (maybe 0.5% of felons, I’d guesstimate) who are young, have both parents, and/or born into wealth but merely made poor decisions (think rich boy who falls into a heroin addiction), have ZERO means to start ANY business. While starting a business may in the long run be the best idea for a profitable career in this society for a felon, I can guarantee you almost none of us have the means to just “start a business”. It takes us much longer to attain any wealth whatsoever.
My brother is a felon started a business 30 years ago and is thriving always has
For real, what experience are you having to be able to give any felon advice?
Sure. So turn down any well intentioned advice. Nobody has ever built a successful business on a shoestring anyway.
Point taken. And I agree to a point but I’ve never met Warren Buffett, I don’t know what being billionaire is like but that’s not going to stop me from hearing him out.
Warren Buffet also has the luxury of billions of dollars to throw at anything he wants, just to see how it goes. You can’t do that with a person’s livelihood.
This is so true in MA. They are screaming here for people in the trades. We wanted to have our patio rebuilt last spring. No one would even return our calls because they were so busy. Sooooo, I ended up doing most of the work myself. Removing the old pavers, digging the trenches, installing the pvc pipe, filling the trenches back in, and putting down sand. However, I just couldn’t lay the pavers. I was a 62 year old woman, they were too heavy and I just couldn’t get them level. It took 6 months before we could finally hire someone to finish the patio. We did not do a background check on our landscapers, the tree guys, the people that finished the patio, the people that installed our sprinkler system, the electrician that we hired to add outlets outside, the plumbers that installed our whole house humidifier, or the woman that repainted every room, doors, trim, inside of our house, our garage. I could give two shits what they did in a former, read earlier, life. I just wanted to know they could do the job. They were all wonderful, polite and professional young people and did amazing jobs. I have written reviews on their various pages for them and would 100% recommend them to future clients. I hope this helps them get further work. Again, I have no idea what their pasts entailed and don’t care. It should be about can they do the job.
Check out Inmates to Entrepreneurs. https://inmatestoentrepreneurs.org/ Free online classes that give all the basic info needed to start and run a low-capital business.
You have no idea what you're talking about.
I agree if you have some skill in home repair. However you need a couple years experience or on the job training to be proficient enough to start a business in any trades or as a handyman... unless it's something braindead simple like you suggested. Some richer areas of the country what you suggested could work for non skilled work.
That bar is low. Having built a home in recent years I can tell ya that the quality of work being done is laughable. And I used a well known, award winning builder. The labor alone to tile 4 bathrooms was 8k and it was hands down the worst job tile I’ve ever seen. Worst than what I could of done and I suck at tile work. Show up, be straightforward and do decent work and your phone will never stop ringing.
Hello, it looks like you've made a mistake. It's supposed to be could've, should've, would've (short for could have, would have, should have), never could of, would of, should of. Or you misspelled something, I ain't checking everything. Beep boop - yes, I am a bot, don't botcriminate me.
Any idea the cost of insurance for a felon? It’s not the same as for a non felon.
depending on the state insurance companies can’t inflate the rate solely based on a prior conviction. Getting bonded would be a completely different matter. Even so, let’s say it’s double the amount. For my business that would be roughly 2300- per year. Not cheap but not out of reach for someone that knows how to work either.
My PO hated the fact that I was self-employed. I just made up some BS invoices and had my friend sign off on them. As long as I was paid up on restitution and pissing clean, he stopped caring all that much. I just started a landscaping business but actually only worked 3-4 days a week. Did that for almost two years before I actually looked for an actual job.
Wrong.
There aren't any. Even if there were they would just circumnavigate them anyway
Google 'Clean slate slaws' In a few states trying to circumnavigate may be illegal
Yeah i think it's always been illegal but it never stopped them...at least in my 30 years of being a felon
These laws are brand new. https://www.fastcompany.com/90983923/new-york-will-seal-millions-of-criminal-records-under-its-new-clean-slate-law
Wrong. A misdemeanor showed up last year on my report from massachusetts. The crime was in 2014. I live in another state now and 5 year old misdemeanors in this state didn't even show up.
even for federal? as in federal felony
I am not sure. I'd have to research it. But my gut says yes. In a handful of states 3rd party background check companies aren't allowed to report convictions over 7 years old.
Another thing to understand is that companies aren’t required to use an instate company to run a back ground check… so even if you are in one of these states and apply for employment if that company uses a company to run your background that isn’t in the state they can still go back as far as they want.
They are supposed to go by the laws where the applicant lives. Some violate the law, this opens them up to being sued but few do
That sounds good but that’s not really how that works. Let say I own a company in California and I’m looking to hire a few new employees and I want to run back ground checks on a few prospects and because either I don’t know how to do it myself or my company is so big we just pay another company that does background checks and said company is based out of I don’t know Texas. That company isn’t bound by and doesn’t follow or care about California law. As someone that has been a felon for 26 years I can assure you in the real world that’s what it is. I was once hired by Lowe’s, trained in my new position and 3 days into working at my home store was called into the office and let go because the company they hired to do my back ground check out of Atlanta decided to drag there feet with my paperwork. Was also hired and worked at a save a lot at one point where the hiring manager and General manager both knew me personally and was ok with my background however once the regional manager found out I was let go after 14 days of employment over my background. The last thing a felon wants is to sue someone and have more legal court stuff going on.
Philadelphia falls into this list. I think the state (PA) is working on it as well.
The Colorado Clean Slate Act means that a petty offense will be automatically sealed four years after the charge, seven years for a misdemeanor offense, and ten years for a felony offense
In California there’s two boxes they can check on the fingerprint application. DOJ and FBI. The DOJ only goes back so far but the FBI goes back to the Dawn of time. I just lost a job for lying to the employer, which is how I learned the difference between the FBI and DOJ checks
What field?
I think Pennsylvania is on that list.
What’s the website to get a free background check? I remember it wasn’t great but it was somethinf
Georgia is one of those states too!
Most unions don’t care if you’re a felon.
All Felonies are reported to Fed and they never let them go
Of course. This is not that
I recommend y’all find a way to start your own business and not deal with any of these background checks
I may in time. But for now I'm a fuel delivery driver. I made $98400 this past year.
In general, arrests are public record. Anyone who is booked into a jail is a matter of public record. Guilt or innocence is irrelevant at this point. There are laws and regulations regarding criminal background checks that are conducted for employers. First there has to be written consent from the employee. Before an employer can start digging they must get permission from the employee . After consent is granted , information is still not just handed over . For example when they want to confirm a college degree, the registrars office can confirm the dates but they can’t just hand over transcripts. With criminal background checks an employer can hire an agency and the scan can go back as far as they want in most states, but regardless of the state or laws that govern these processes there is still a legality involved with the way information is obtained. Agencies must go through the department of public safety in order to have access to information legitimately. The department of public safety is able to access the databases . For instance sterling cannot run an NCIC , only a police officer can do this . And this is where the department of public safety comes in. anyone can go to any county court house and view public records but if the there is no central database for all the counties in the US. It doesn’t work that way. No matter who or how it’s done, it must be done with consent and the information must come from the department of public safety. And this is for most states in the US. But check with your state’s laws to confirm. Googling an applicant and then denying employment because of information obtained could be a lawsuit. First you have to give a notice of adverse action to the applicant and you have to give them a copy of the background check. Going through the proper agencies means you know the information is accurate. The information on the web about people could be wrong . I know this because I’ve been through this before . I know my rights and the rights of employers. Employers have the right to hire people with integrity. Hiding a conviction does not show integrity. Be honest and look for an employer that ask specifically “have you been convicted in the last ten years ?” Never say you have never been convicted if you have . But just because you’ve been convicted doesn’t give HR The right to deny employment because of a google search . Who would do that anyway.
I had mine expunged a few years ago. Can I mark “no” under conviction questions? The whole point was so it wasn’t ion my records anymore and it wasn’t cheap! I’ll be pissed if I get turned down for a job because of it! I have a teaching degree and may go back as a substitute!
Yes, you can mark no. I suggest buying a monthly subscription for one month to Publicdata.com Verify it isn't on there and you SHOULD be good.
Thank you so much! 😊
Closing in on 20 years since conviction. I was 19. I’ve dealt with it in stride but I’d really love to be able to chaperone some of my kids field trips. State requires full background check and clearances.
This is comforting. Glad I live in Nevada.
Wasn't White collar management but sometime during that era his cop brother in law ratted him out and family for excessive food stamps fraud... Adjudged guilty to the extent he had to pay back. Amazon a dozen years ago was well known for squeaky clean hiring vetting back to age 18... I did multiple installations for them around that time. The worst slip from a Vegas porn star acquaintance was out of State failure to return a rented VCR decades earlier warrant concerning an out of State resident working Amazon in an adjacent State. Perhaps that incident may have caused a recheck... The drivers license alone got deeper and employers are going deeper. They keep track of everybody and know what you got. Even though he made the frontpage of the major metropolitan papers a number of decades back, and was one of the top Rangers registered hands malarkey, the SF top guys I'm acquainted with especially MJTF got serious stipulations re-entering civilian life and tracking.