DUI Advice

Dear Evil HR Lady:

I am currently applying for a new job. The particular position I am applying for is working for a City... so it is a city/gov't job.

On the application are two questions:

Have you ever been convicted of any offense(s) other than a driving violation? (Exlude juvenile offenses if records legally sealed.) If yes, list offense(s) and date(s) of conviction(s) in the "Comments" section. A yes answer is not necessarily disqualifying. yes no

Have you ever been convicted of wreckless driving or driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs OR has your driver's license ever been suspended or revoked as a result of conviction(s) of driving violation(s): list offense(s) and date(s) of conviction(s) in the "Comments" section. A yes answer is not necessarily disqualifying. yes no

OK- that said. I had a DUI in April of 1997. 10 years after a violation like that, it is no longer on your DMV record. I ordered a copy of my DMV record and it is clear- not tickets, DUI, nothing. So, my question to you is, do I have to reveal this on the application? What resource do they use to look at my background and how far back do they go? Any advice?

Also- if I do have to reveal it, do I have to answer yes to both of the questions above, or just the second one?

Thanks!

As just a little reminder I am not a lawyer. I never have been a lawyer. I did teach LSAT prep classes for Kaplan once upon a time, but that focused on logic questions not actual laws. I am also not an expert on DUIs, but I'll do my best.

First of all I don't know what the nature of your conviction was. I don't know how your state classifies driving under the influence. I am going to assume that you can answer no to question one.

But what about question 2? You'll notice that I've bolded a couple phrases. The word ever keeps popping up. So, the answer is yes, you MUST reveal this offense. If your state considers DUI a traffic offense only there's a good chance it wouldn't show up on a background check. But it might.

More importantly, falsifying information on your application is grounds for firing you. And when I say firing I mean firing for cause--no hope of severance, no eligibility for unemployment benefits.

So, is all lost? Absolutely not. It's illegal to discriminate against you due to a conviction unless it is related to the job. If your job doesn't involve driving, combined with the fact that the conviction was 10 years ago, it shouldn't matter. You also have the advantage that this is a government job and governments tend to be sticklers about following regulations.

Don't ever lie. It's easy to convince yourself that you'll never get caught. You might not, but you might and that can be a huge career destroyer. It's doubtful a 10 year old DUI will have any effect on your application, but not putting it on and having them find out later will ruin whatever chances you may have had.

Even if it's not on a driver's license check, it still exists. Remember, even if God forgives and forgets your neighbors never do. So even your ability to survive a background check can not stop your old buddy from getting a job in the neighboring cube and joking, "Hey, still driving around drunk?" Ha, ha, ha. And then your boss thinks, "I don't remember that," and he pulls your application and you're out on your ear.

Always, always, always, tell the truth. And for the rest of you, for Heaven's sake don't drink and drive.