Berkeley County DUI Lawyer

Can You Get a Job With a DUI?

If you have been arrested and/or convicted of drunk driving, you may be wondering what kinds of consequences you might face beyond those imposed by a judge. Specifically, you may be wondering if your DUI charges will affect your current job or your ability to get a job at any point in the future.

A DUI conviction can affect your job or your ability to get a job even if the work has nothing to do with driving. There are only fourteen states with laws requiring that potential employers prove that an individual’s conviction is relevant to the job in order to deny them employment. West Virginia is not one of them.

How DUI Affects Employment & Future Job Applications

In addition to doing criminal background checks, employers can Google a person’s name to see if any suspicious search results pop up. A drunk-driving arrest is often publicly reported and will likely be visible in a Google search even if it never ended in conviction.

Here Are Some Things to Consider:

• What to include on your job application: If you have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence but have not been convicted of a DUI, you only need to include this information on a job application under specific circumstances. If a prospective employer specifically asks you if you have ever been arrested, then you may need to disclose this information. However, you need not discuss your arrest if a job application only asks if you have ever been convicted of a crime. Failure to provide information about an arrest or conviction when directly asked on a job application could be considered fraud.
• DUI conviction vs. DUI arrest: You are more likely to be affected by a DUI conviction during a job application process than you are an arrest that does not ultimately end in conviction. If you have been convicted of a DUI, you will need to relay that information if a prospective employer asks if you have been convicted of a crime. This procedure applies whether you were found guilty or pleaded no contest to a DUI charge.
• When including it on your job application is not necessary: If your conviction has been expunged, you may leave your conviction off a job application. In addition, you may leave off information about a misdemeanor DUI conviction if an application asks specifically about felony convictions.

If you have been arrested for drunk driving and the arrest was made public, you may not be able to prevent employers from finding the arrest record online. However, it is crucial to do all you can to make sure your DUI arrest does not turn into a DUI conviction, as this could have even more serious consequences for your career and your life in general. For these and many other reasons, you should seek the help of a Martinsburg DUI defense attorney with experience and expertise in defending against DUI charges in Berkeley County.