Hello all,

I have a 2003 conviction in Texas for Unauthorized use of a Motor Vehicle that is seriously affecting my employment prospects. I would greatly appreciate some advice from the experts out there.

I went for a drunken joyride in a golf cart that belonged to the apartment complex in which I was living. I had no intention of stealing the cart as I never left the premises, but on my record the title of the crime appears at a glance to be outright auto theft.

The original arrest was for felony burglary of a non-habitation (for entering the open storage area) and aggravated assault (for apparently no reason, nothing of the sort happened and the charge was immediately dropped).

Since my conviction, I moved to Washington state and completed my bachelors degree. I have been offered several high paying jobs with some household name tech companies, only to have the offers revoked at the last minute due to my background checks coming back unsatisfactory. My cash supplies will be gone in about a month and I would therefore be looking for lower paying jobs to get me by, but I see no reason that they would be more willing to hire a "thief" than would those I have already lost out on.

One thing that I know is that a search of the Texas Department of Public Safety's online database comes back with nothing for my full name and birthdate. Also, a quickie database-only background check run by a staffing agency came back with absolutely no history on me. Is it possible due to some glitch that database-only criminal background checks are coming back with nothing on my, while searches done at the courthouse level are? If this is the case, I'm thinking that I could step through the loop hole by only going for jobs that will run database-only background checks.

According to Texas law "a consumer reporting agency may not furnish a consumer report containing information related to: a record of arrest, indictment, or conviction of a crime in which the date of disposition, release, or parole predates the consumer report by more than seven years." Am I correct in understanding this to mean that a Texas based criminal background check company can't report convictions over 7 years old, or is there some reason that I'll still a pariah after then?

Are arrest records generally returned in a criminal background check? If so, it may be that the Aggravated Assault portion of the arrest is the real problem. If so, I believe under Texas law I can have this charge expunged since it was immediately thrown out by the arraigning judge.

This seems completely insane that a bright, educated person that's never been in a fight or tried to steal a thing in his life would be completely shut out of all but the very lowest rung of employment opportunities. At this point, I'm saddled with considerable student debt, I'm running out of money, and I'm apparently virtually unemployable. Can anyone offer any advice or suggestions on courses of action?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

?? No attorney to represent you for the charge, It is hard to believe this was what the conviction ended up being.

No company will or can see the arrests unless they are doing a national security background check or if you are applying for a police or law enforcement position.

And many of the "online" or private searches do not do as good in some states as they do others,

Hello Der:

Given that you crime was a wussy one, I would approach your record head on. If you had a supplement to your application or your resume that explained your offense in the manner you did here, you'll find something.

Yes, you may have to go on 5 times as many interviews as a guy who doesn't have your problem, but you can find work. The NW is a progressive atmosphere. You may have to stick to the smaller shops where you can interview with the boss.

excon

Fr_chuck: Thanks for the information. I did have a lawyer, and a pretty pricey one at that. I think that the aggravated assault charge, though it was quickly dropped, gave the whole thing a sense of severity in the judges eyes that it would not otherwise have had.

excon: This one time I'm happy to be a wuss. Seriously though, I really appreciate guys like you that have had serious trouble in the past and have gotten through it offering advice to others.

Your advice on looking for a smaller shop is well taken. Part of the problem is likely that with huge staffing agencies, working for even more huge employers, they have a pretty much mechanical screening process. If you trip a certain alarm there's no discussion, it's just game over.

While I'm on the subject of overly mechanical processes, here's why I'm so worried: I did a temporary assignment at an internet retailer after I skirted by on the aforementioned lax background check. I was doing a job that had serious legal and PR consequences as it related directly to public safety. I point this out not to sound cool, but only to highlight how stupid the next thing that happened was. I was offered the position permanently and I accepted. When the background check came back, the he offer was revoked, my temporary assignment was immediately terminated, and I was given 10 minutes to get out of the building, leaving only one other temporary who's contract was leaving in 1 week in the position. Even more amazingly, the company didn't even know what was on my background check; they simply accepted a yea or nay from the background check company and happily told a highly productive employee to get the fudge out. But I digress...

Does anyone have any info to offer on the 7 year reporting cutoff?