I have an offer letter contingent on a background check. I have a 7 year old arrest that was dismissed-should I worry? (application, payment)

[AmyCNU2003]

I was under the impression that if you were arrested for something and it was dismissed it would not show up on your record. Boy was I naive!!! I recently started looking for a new job and someone brought it to my attention that an arrest no matter what shows up on your record. I started the expungement process in July and am getting ready to get a court date to complete the process. In the meantime, I have been offered this killer job and received the offer letter which of course says is contingent upon a satisfactory background check. My arrest occured 7 and a half years ago and was for stalking of all things. It was immediately dismissed because my ex-husband's girlfriend had fabricated evidence against me that was ridiculous. The two of them were getting ready to be evicted from the house we owned together for non-payment of the mortgage and so we could put it up for sale. This was a ploy to delay things. My question is - am I in trouble here? I have already handed in my notice at my current job. Is it possible that if they find this in my background check that I would be disqualified for the position. I always thought that one was innocent until proven guilty.

[janetvj]

I suspect that it depends on what type of background check they do. My employer only checks for convictions. I imagine that some employers may check everything. And arrests do show up even if the charges are ultimately dismissed or result in a not guilty. I agree with you that one should be innocent until proven guilty, but unfortunately that isn't always the case.

Good luck to you - I hope everything works out.

[rlrl]

what kind of check is being done and how the laws about reporting impact

in NY if you are being fingerprinted for a non-law enforcement type job where you will not be carrying a gun, a dismissed criminal charge would not show on your record, it would be sealed to any employer who fingerprints you other than law enforcement

if you are not being fingerprinted but rather an employer is using a Consumer Reporting Company to check your criminal background (which is what it sounds like in this scenario), in NY an arrest only cannot be reported without a corresponding criminal conviction unless the arrest is still pending.

this only applies where the job is located in NY. other states have their own versions of reporting arrests that may or may not be different from NY

for states that do not have their own reporting laws, the reporting defaults to the federal fcra model which states that an arrest can be reported for up to 7 years

you could find out if your state has it's own reporting laws. if it doesn't, most likely it uses the federal model where arrests can be reported for up to 7 years

[homelicious]

did you fill out an application that asked for arrests, or crimes? Some apps ask about arrests, some ask about committing a crime, etc.

if you were arrested, but not convicted you should be good. You are innocent until proven guilty. Any legit employer would not hold this against you.

[AmyCNU2003]

The application I filled out asked about convictions. The more I think about it, the more I think I will be okay. If arrests were an issue they would have asked that on an application or in an interview.