For those with misdemeanors and certain felonies

As a person who trusted my old boss in 2002, was overtly naive and, along with the rest of the employees who were confused when he decided to change from paying cash to doing checks but still took them: as a person who cashed the first two work checks before finding a better job and moving on with my life, enlisting in the Army and planning to retire: as a person who, in 03 was ready to leave for the Army and got pulled over, arrested for what I thought was a suspended license and finding out those work checks were forged and now has a misdemeanor for theft; who took the choice to have the then felony brought to a mis demeanor so I could get out of jail immediately and go to the Army on time for my leaving date instead of staying in another 3 months and having it dropped fully.....

I must say that finding a job has been hell the last almost 2 years. I worked many good jobs between the time I got out of the military from injuries 8 months later after entering, but since the recession, no one hires because of that misdemeanor. The rant here is simple and one we should press to whoever we should press it to:

All apps seem to ask "Have you ever been convicted of a crime?" Well, to honestly say yes, there goes your job offer. To say no, sure you may get hired but when they find out, you get axed. I never lied. I haven't found work since. Not even temp services. Which is why I'm starting my own house cleaning business.

Point is, apps should NOT be umbrella'ed like that. They should be job specific. If someone applies for pharmacy or something like that, ask if they were convicted of a crime for drugs, etd. If they want to be a cashier, accounts payable, etc, ask if they were convicted of theft, etc. This umbrella question bars folk from so many opportunities. I always wondered why convicts would keep breaking the law and go back to jail/prison.

I used to never understand. Now I can kind of get why. Barring horrific crimes to humanity, the majority of criminals do their time, better themselves and have served their time - yet once out, they find they serve their time for life as in cant find work to live. Take care of their kids. Better themselves financially. Oh, I know anyone can start a business. If they have the money to do so. :/

I dunno. I'm kind of torn down the middle as I can see both sides of stories from ex criminals and non offenders alike. I can understand a business owner or upper manangment wouldn't want to risk someone getting hurt or losing assets. I personally wouldn't want to work alongside a rapist or someone who had horrifically assaulted another, etc. But for those who have been out of incarceration or even JUST the courthouse since not all DO time, and have been away from that for (I'd say a minimum of) seven to ten years; and haven't been in trouble since, it's not fair or right. I read tales of a man who is in his late 60's, who committed a misdemeanor in his early 20s' and STILL has trouble finding work! Many who had a problem 15 years ago; 20; 35 years. When do they stop being judged? Seriously?

I can't even get a job at a factory working on 8 ton machines due to that theft charge. Because obviously, though I've had a clean record before and after 2002 with that one incident (never trust a boss or a work check is my motto now. I get scared when I cash work checks, seriously), the company thinks I'm going to pocket said 8 ton machine and walk out the door with it.

(the non rant is that I found a lawyer who will take my case for free if the judge deems that my zero income, being on food stamps and living in housing says he can waive the court costs; if he does that, the lawyer will waive his fee and he'll do the sealing of my misdemeanor for free. I have NEVER felt so human and free and excited as I do now because of that hope. I can finally apply anywhere I want and be 'judged' for my work quals, my dedication, devotion, past work experience, accomplishments and such rather than being ONLY 'judged' for them seeing 'yes' on the 'have you ever been convicted of a crime?' Life again has meaning and hope for me. Until the 4-8 months passes which is the time it takes from start to finish to seal this bs, I'm going to clean houses for a living via my own self business. ^_^ )

I know most are going to jump on this and flip tables. I have done that prior to my own experience. I was always against letting people with crimes work. 'Oh no, they'll steal everything EVER. Or beat up everyone if they get mad. Or follow me home and hurt me if they dislike something I say, do."

God was I blind. Took a mile and years walking in the 'I have a misdemeanor' shoes to realize a LOT. Idunno. it's a tricky position either way. I'm just grateful for my chance to bury mine forever and never have it define me again because it is NOT me. It's an unfair tag onto a person who merely cashed a work check. Five of us got forever screwed that day. Though I did get good seal coating experience from said job. Still. The 'benefits' I got from working there was not worth it. "Work for a company, get a paycheck and a misdemeanor." Good grief. Me, with zero record, vs a boss who we found out has a rap sheet inches thick, was in and out of prison habitually from 1995 and up for writing bad checks, ripping customers off, etc. Heck, from what I found out, he was just in prison again for 3 years for doing the same crap! Just got out a while ago and is now in another State. No doubt doing the same crap there now. For his bs and my willingness to work hard to learn a new trade, I'm judged a horrific person everywhere. Meh.

That will soon be behind me forever. Still. Those job apps have GOT to stop being so unfairly umbrella'd like they are. I KNOW where I can and can not apply. Yet places where there is ZERO money handling still won't hire me. It's fine. I'm doing my own thing for now with my house cleaning business. MAKE APPS JOB SPECFIC WHEN ASKING ABOUT PAST CRIMES. For pity's sake.... :C

AMEN! I've been looking for work for almost 9 months. I've had 2 interviews and still didn't get hired. The worst thing about my conundrum was that my last job let me go for two felonies I had as a juvenile, 15 years ago. Juvenile records are supposed to be sealed in Pennsylvania.

But I agree with the "umbrella" statement and I feel that in some instances it's a form of discrimination. I guess it's because soo many people are out of work and looking that employers are being more anal in using the process of elimination.

I must add, yes, I have zero income. The only reason I'm able to start this house cleaning job is because a few kind folk are giving me cleaning supplies to get me on my feet. I'm still going to have to walk to houses with the supplies. But I'm determined. Everyone has to start somewhere. I'm able bodied. Walking will do me good. This town only has 1700 so it's not THAT huge

reply to post by sarra1833


Good luck! And you never know, you may be able to start your own cleaning business eventually.

reply to post by kimish


Thing that irked me MOST; I had an interview at Walmart last year. I was honest, told them the situation and she told me the ONLY thing they will not hire people for are felonies for assault, murder, rape, drug dealing and home invasion and pedophilia.

Imagine my horrific disappointment when I got The Letter in the mail saying they had to rescind their offer of employment because of my background check. So my mis theft was as bad as a felonious murdering drug dealing rapist to them. I sobbed hard.

reply to post by kimish


Thing that irked me MOST; I had an interview at Walmart last year. I was honest, told them the situation and she told me the ONLY thing they will not hire people for are felonies for assault, murder, rape, drug dealing and home invasion and pedophilia.

Imagine my horrific disappointment when I got The Letter in the mail saying they had to rescind their offer of employment because of my background check. So my mis theft was as bad as a felonious murdering drug dealing rapist to them. I sobbed hard.

I'm not certain how this could apply to you as I never faced it myself. However, in trucking I ran across a few people who went through the process of having a conviction expunged from their record. I really can't say what crimes can or can't be or how that may change by state. It may be worth a little google time to see if it's even an option though. I know the guys who had to do it were getting screwed up on background checks. Either company based or DHS Hazmat checks. When it worked, so did they. So, maybe?

I hope that helps.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


It can cost up to thousands of dollars to get crimes expunged, that's not cheap, especially if you have more than one. And even then they never go away, like my two felonies, they should have been expunged the day I turned 18 but 15 years later I lose a job because of it.

I suggest you get a lawyer and get your record expunged. Then you will be able to safely say "No" to the conviction question.

Also, I thought that question was only valid for the previous 5 years. Usually when I'm filling out an application, it asks, "Have you been convicted of a crime in the past 5 years?"

Regardless, get a lawyer to help expunge your record. If everything happened the way you claim, it shouldn't be that hard and your innocence will be easily provable.

reply to post by kimish


Hey, is there anyway to contact a lawyer? I contacted many and finally found one willing to work with me and do this for free if the judge waives the court costs. If they're letting you go cuz of juvie records, that IS no doubt against the law in some way. I'm no lawyer at ALL. I'm still very naive to the System. I'll pray for ya that things go right for you. Stories like yours (and my own) are what breaks my heart. So you gotta be forever punished for something you did as a child. Horrific. Absolutely horrific. Sometimes I think 'they' rig it like this to keep getting repeat offenders back in. There has to be some income 'they' get per criminal behind bars. HAS to. I could be straw pulling too, of course. But come on. The system is set up so anyone who has a record can't get ahead unless they get lucky. Real lucky.

Being denied job after job makes one feel like a loser after a time, no matter how positive one tries to remain.

reply to post by sarra1833

Wait until you get over 50 and have a record; It becomes much harder then.

I know a guy who owned a very large paint and body shop. He got into the habit of accepting post-dated checks to pay for the repairs. He did this as a customer service, and probably didn't realize he was breaking the law; I can't say for sure. One day they rolled in on him and he had several of the checks at his business. They charged him with multiple counts of possession of a forged instrument and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Luckily his family kept the business going until he got out, and he was able to return to work when released.

Not all of us have it like that. It just doesn't seem right to be punished for the rest of your life for stupid mistakes; especially those that had no victims...

(oh god, in before someone freaks and asks how im on the net). I have 'income' to a small degree; refunds from my student loans from online schooling. But the loans dried up and after the next two classes, I'm done forever or til I can repay the 57k I owe. I dont wish to get into THAT as that's a whole different topic xD but yes, I have the barest net one can get that still allows use of adobe cs4. And aye, it's entertainment as I have zero tv in the house. Or radios. Just wanted to address that. I've been on here long enough to know some folk will nit pick anything and everything they can. Anything else any nitpickers want to discuss, I'll reply as I can. Else I'll ignore it, hehe)

reply to post by OrphenFire


Orphan, here in Illinois, there IS no 7 or 10 year thing. They go back far as ones juvenile years, sadly.

And no, can't move. Far too expensive. I'll be fine in less than a year. I have the end of the rainbow showing brighter and brighter for me. I hope the same happens for the other poster in here.

reply to post by sarra1833


Now add into the employment process, having bad credit!!!! Yep, they check your credit rating now too! Never hear the MSM talk about these things though when they bring up why people aren't able to get jobs......

reply to post by seeker1963


A good point, Seeker. I have poor credit though it's risen a LOT since it was very poor. I'm proud. Slowly but surely it's going up. Embarassing to admit but yes. So that's another point: who cares how one's credit is? Most folk with bad credit want to make it better. I sure do! I can't without working. I don't see how credit defines how customer oriented a person is; how hard they work, how dedicated, loyal, dependable, etc. Some folk just have tons of medical bills they can't pay. Like me. Plus my loans from school, those add on as well. (determined to NEVER default on those. They can and will make my credit soar higher by me paying on time. I'd be a total fool to muck up that chance!)

It all reminds me of the conundrum if, say, you lose your license, social and birth certificate. Can't get one with out the other two. So if ya got bad credit, you cant get hired. If you can't get hired, you can't fix your bad credit xD. Horrible. Just horrible. Add on a mis or felony (and even age of the person at times) and you have the perfect salad of desperation. A desperate person is frightening. Not in an 'I"m going to kill you' way, but in an "I have to do something to make money. But what?????" and they turn to illegal means SOMEtimes. It's sad. Heartbreaking.

AH. What they assume is that because you have bad credit, you're going to steal.

Really? REALLY? Most folk I know want to work to get a house. A new car. To pay off bills. A few bad apples..... oh I hate that saying but it's SO apt. I'd love to see the statistics on the fact that those with bad credit WILL steal. Why would they muck up a job that's paying them so they can fix their issues? Cuz a handful maybe have done that very thing? So all are to blame? I know better safe than sorry is a good moniker to utilize, but come ON now. Just because two Jim's jump off a bridge doesn't mean ALL Jim's will jump off a bridge.

That was a bad example but you get what I'm saying.

Yer right, Kiddo, this SYSTEM..... sucks big time....
The system is OF and FOR the SYSTEM.....
One slip on the ladder of success and the American Dream,............................................................................. and its all the way to the damn bottom for you.........
No recourse ....but money will fix it either,...... and of course because the system is what it is, thats the one thing youll have a hard time digging up.......
trust me on this........The system has worked like this since the most FEUDAL of days......
The SAME families/bloodlines are in charge just as in the days of yore...
The PRINCE just wears a business suit....hes the same descendant of wealth and pomp as before.....
..............God bless you and keep you......
There is honour and truth in what you are doing.....keep your courage and your sense of humour,....................... youll need pulenty of both....believe me, I already know.............that said.......
There are GOOD PEOPLE everywhere......just like you........

reply to post by seeker1963

I heard that they outlawed that in Florida recently, but that's the only State I've heard from.

Yep. Here's one link about the deal in Florida. I hope other States do this as well...

Pre-Employment Credit Checks

reply to post by stirling


Thanks Sterling. In this apparent dog eat dog world of today, it's a shame we don't make a lot of progress in the humanity format of it all. A shame a few mucked it up for the whole. All we can do is keep pushing ahead, stay positive even in the hardest of downpours and keep up hope.

reply to post by sarra1833


listen,, you are still not gonna believe this ,, but i had 12 Felonies and STILL worked Anywhere i applied..

it's all in HOW you present yourself --Today....

i got My Record expunged,, back in 2006 but before that i was working everywhere on Airfields,, in heavy equipment,, in buildings at night cleaning carpets..

ARE YOU a trustworthy person??
then SELL yourself as one..

Employers look for Confidence and HATE wishy-washy answers to THAT question..

"""Yes, i Cashed Checks My boss gave me,, i trusted him-- and now i carry a Black mark on MY record,, BUT i'm not a thief.. and i have a clean Drivers record,, i have insurance for my car,, and i dont do drugs, or drink too much""

answers are easy to THAT question.. dont let the truth STOP YOU.. Sell your personality.. you might be surprized how easily potential employers respond to the Simplest things,, (like a Firm Handshake)