Our pasts have a way of catching up to us. If you were convicted of a crime, how will that impact your future employment in Utah?
A future employer will likely want to see your criminal history when you apply for a job in Utah. Depending on the charges you were convicted of in the past and the position you are applying for, your record might not impact your employment. That said, many people with criminal records have difficulty securing jobs and housing following a conviction. To ensure your past does not unfairly impact your present, you can see if you are eligible for expungement. In general, many misdemeanor charges are automatically expunged in Utah if enough time has passed since a conviction. If you are currently facing criminal charges and are concerned about your job security, getting the charges against you dropped or proving your innocence at trial will be crucial.
To have the Salt Lake City criminal defense lawyers of Overson & Bugden assess your case for free, call us today at (801) 758-2287.
Can a Future Employer See Past Criminal Convictions in Utah?
Generally speaking, prospective employers will run background checks on job applicants in Utah. These background checks can churn up previous criminal convictions, making it harder for people to get hired.
A criminal record can profoundly impact a person’s ability to secure future employment in Utah. While employers often only run background checks for felony convictions, they might also search for misdemeanor convictions. This information is of public record meaning anyone with interest, including a future employer or landlord, can learn of your criminal history.
Depending on the charges you were convicted of, your future employment may or may not be impacted. If your arrest and conviction are unrelated to your job position, or if it has been years since the conviction took place, an employer might still hire you. That said, employers are typically wary of hiring people with felony convictions or those convicted of charges related to violent offenses or financial offenses.
When applying to any position, being upfront about your criminal convictions is important. In doing so, you can establish transparency with a future employer and provide context to your criminal history.
Can You Be Fired from a Job Because of a Criminal Conviction in Utah?
If you were fired from your job after being convicted of a crime in Utah, it is fair to wonder whether or not your employer had reason to take such action against you. If the conduct related to your arrest or the arrest itself interferes with your job, your employer might have reason to arrest you.
Being convicted of a crime might taint your relationship with your employer, leaving them to believe that you are unfit to continue in your current role. For example, if your criminal case would cause you to miss too much time from work, your employer might choose to terminate you. Or if the criminal charges against you are in direct violation of the code of conduct of your place of employment, you might be fired. While an arrest alone is not reason to fire someone, there are other things connected to an arrest that might lead to a person’s termination.
The best way to combat this is by getting ahead of the charges against you. If you were wrongly charged with a crime, our Sandy criminal defense lawyers will work to get the charges against you dropped so that you do not have to go to court. Do not assume that this will happen on its own if you are innocent. If you allow the process to continue without intervention, the case might progress, causing you to lose your job in Utah.
Tell our lawyers if you believe you were unjustly fired for a past criminal charge. If your record has been expunged or you were not actually convicted of a charge, your employer might have wrongly terminated you.
How to Stop a Criminal Conviction from Impacting Your Future Employment in Utah
You can stop a criminal conviction from impacting your future employment in Utah by proving your innocence or getting your criminal record expunged.
While the latter is an option in many instances, it should not be relied upon. That is to say, you should not accept a criminal conviction because you are under the assumption that you can get it expunged from your record. Our lawyers will submit evidence that undermines the prosecution’s case, either to get the charges against you dropped or to get a not-guilty verdict at trial.
If you have been convicted of a crime in the past, and that conviction is harming your ability to secure employment, we may be able to get your record expunged. If you have only been arrested but not convicted of a crime, you can get the arrest expunged from your record within 30 days of the charges being dropped in Utah.
Furthermore, because of the Clean Slate Law, certain misdemeanor convictions will automatically be expunged if you have not been convicted of a crime within the past five to seven years of your initial conviction.
If you were convicted of a felony, assault, DUI, domestic violence charge, or sex offense you will likely be ineligible to get your criminal record expunged in Utah.
If you are eligible for expungement when you can get it will depend on the charge you were convicted of and how many convictions you have on your record. The most time you will have to wait to apply for expungement if you are eligible is ten years.
Once an arrest or conviction is expunged from your record, no one can see it without a court order, including a future employer.
Call Our Attorneys to Discuss Your Criminal Case in Utah
Call Overson & Bugden at (801) 758-2287 to set up a free case evaluation with our Provo criminal defense lawyers.
