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Getting around a criminal background check for employment

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Rheina

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Dec 10, 2017
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So are there anyways to skirt around a background check? I have a couple of low-level felonies that are preventing me from obtaining meaningful employment and putting my bachelors degree to good use. From my understanding a background check only goes off information such as your full name, DOB, and Social Security number.

Changing your name is real easy, changing your birth date is next to impossible, and getting a new social security number is difficult, but not out of the ordinary. If I were to get a new SSN due to someone stealing my identity, and change my name, would anything come up if a company ran my background check with the new information?

I have to wait four years to expunge those felonies off my record unfortunately. Any thoughts fellas?
 
Yeah it'd still show up they keep records of those things, not to mention they ask about any other names you've gone by.
 
Well here is my plan: Change my first name and apply for a new Social Security Number due to identity theft. If you have sex charges, I do believe potential employers should know about that. But having stupid forgery charges from trying to screw the DMV over, no that should not be of any concern.
 
Like I said if they do a background check it's gonna show your name change, and it is next to impossible to get a new ssn, you would literally have to be in financial ruin and prove it was due to identity theft.
 
Will your 'low level felonies' really prevent you gaining meaningful employment if you're honest & up-front about them from the off?

In the UK in the industry in which I work, potential employees have to apply for an 'enhanced check' from the DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) & can't start work until their DBS certificate has come back & been seen by the employer (This is the law for anyone employed to look after children and/or vulnerable adults as well as some other roles)
The certificate contains details of all spent and unspent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings from the Police National Computer (PNC) and also includes a check of information held by police forces
The check also discloses if the applicant is barred from working with children or vulnerable adults if they have applied for a job working with either

However......when interviewing applicants, it's always made clear to them that having a criminal conviction doesn't necessarily rule them out of the job, but lying about it definitely does (A surprising amount of applicants lie, despite their DBS coming back with a list of convictions)

If people have convictions with a bit of time behind them & they're not considered a relevant risk to the job role & they'll obviously be really good at the job, their conviction isn't held against them as long as they were honest about it in the first place & it tallies with the info on their DBS certificate

This is my very long-winded way of asking if the nature of your 'felonies' is definitely going to prevent you being employed & will being honest about them not count in your favour if you have the qualifications, experience & enthusiasm for your chosen field? (and can lay on a plausible heart-felt explanation about why you ended up with forgery charges)
Trying to skirt around it by changing names & basically committing fraud, is surely just going to get you into deeper shit & ruin your employment chances if you get found out?
 
It depends on the type of felonies they are if they even show up on a background check.
Most employers use a specific type of background check where only certain crimes even show up.
If it involves theft of money or property it will probably show up, same with violence and sex crimes. Drug trafficking shows up usually but some other drug related charges don't. The only thing you can do is try.
Also how old are the felonies? After 7 years they usually don't even require you to list any felonies.
 
have not ever heard of someone successfully doing what you describe. might be more fruitful to contact a lawyer (whether with your own money or through a organization like legal aid society that provides free services, depending on your current situation) and see what steps they say you can take to help employers get past your record.
 
Just out of curiosity, what felonies do you have on your record? And you get a new SS when you change your name automatically.
 
Anyone have advice for Assault With A Dangerous Weapon in the USA?

Having trouble finding work.. I hear construction is a good place to start?

I have a bachelors in accounting and worked in finance prior to my offence.
 
Just out of curiosity, what felonies do you have on your record? And you get a new SS when you change your name automatically.
This is patently false.

madness00 said:
Anyone have advice for Assault With A Dangerous Weapon in the USA?

Having trouble finding work.. I hear construction is a good place to start?

I have a bachelors in accounting and worked in finance prior to my offence.

I'm guessing it was a felony? I also have an accounting background (and two misdemeanors on my criminal record) and unfortunately it's next to impossible to secure employment in the field after that because of concerns over internal controls. A labor lawyer could dispense advice on how to better increase your chances of being able to secure employment. Most lawyers will do a free consult. I've needed a labor attorney a couple of times and the first time my union helped me sue the company I worked for, and the second, I got a free consult from the county Bar Association so those are some resources you could look into.
 
Yeah, it was a felony.

So getting back into finance is a no-go unless i seal my record, i'm assuming.

Labor lawyer.. never heard of it. I'll give it a go once my housing situation settles down and i move into the group home. (I'm currently homeless).
 
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