Question about job/hiring/bad check.

[Dr.Girlfriend]

My sister was just offered a position with a company that is an affiliate of a national bank (the position isn't actually in the bank itself). It involves no money handling at all. She filled out her application, spoke with the recruiter, had a face to face interview and was offered a job. She had to do her drug and background screening today.

While talking to her, I asked her what they said about her bad check that she had about 10 years ago. She said that she didn't put it down on her application because it never came up before. Long story short, 10 years ago she wrote a check to a local grocery store and it, along with three other checks, bounced because someone took money out of the account. She paid off the three checks but never apparently never realized she owed on the check to the grocery store. Two years later, she got a letter in the mail saying there was a warrant for her arrest. I guess she had been summoned to court for this $100 check, but didn't go. Not sure why. She went to our local police department and was arrested on the spot for not showing up to work.

She paid the fines but didn't have to go to court. There was some meeting she had to go to where the person there said that since it was a misdemeanor and she paid it off, it wouldn't show on her records.

Again, this was 10 years ago (8 years since the arrest). She *was* arrested but has never had this come up before. Now she's worried because she put down on the application that she had never been arrested and she's wondering if this will indeed come up in her background check. She called her recruiter and left a voicemail asking her to call her back to talk about her application. How should she handle this? Are her chances completely shot now?

Thanks for any advice. Not sure what to tell her.

 

[daisax]

Do job applications ask if you've been arrested? I haven't filled one out in a while, but I thought they only asked if you've been convicted of a felony.

 

[Arielle22]

I am in HR (and actually running a background check on another window).

If I find something on a background check that wasn't disclosed on the application then I would not hire the applicant.

Now I have had someone with a bounced check which resulted in an arrest. He disclosed it on the application. We required him to provide proof of his version. Once he did we hired him.

The background check service I use go back only 7 years.

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

Do job applications ask if you've been arrested? I haven't filled one out in a while, but I thought they only asked if you've been convicted of a felony.

I think hers asked if she had ever been arrested for anything, and to state the reason . She said that she put "no" because it's never come up in her background check before.

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

I am in HR (and actually running a background check on another window).

If I find something on a background check that wasn't disclosed on the application then I would not hire the applicant.

Now I have had someone with a bounced check which resulted in an arrest. He disclosed it on the application. We required him to provide proof of his version. Once he did we hired him.

The background check service I use go back only 7 years.

Good to know. If she talked to the recruiter and told him that she didn't think it would come up (before the background check comes back), would that help her?

I guess her background check is going through the FBI so I'm sure it will go past 7 years for her.

 

[*pixie*dust*]

If the misdemenor comes back on her background/criminal check and she didn't list it ahead of time, chances are that they won't hire her.

Also, even if she had disclosed it, since it was a financial related offense they probably wouldn't hire her either.

 

[DebbieB]

I wouldn't bring it up now. If it does come up, then she knows for future job applications.

 

[crashbb]

Good to know. If she talked to the recruiter and told him that she didn't think it would come up (before the background check comes back), would that help her?

I guess her background check is going through the FBI so I'm sure it will go past 7 years for her.

I'm not in HR, but that sounds an awful lot like she is saying:

"I didn't think you'd find out, so I just figured I'd lie about it. I didn't think I'd get caught".

I'm not saying that she was thinking that, just that that is what it sounds like. If she does want to contact the recruiter, she needs to find another way to word it.

 

[taylor1293]

Some counties keep arrest records online. Has she looked there yet to see what she can find?

If they find it and if the application asked her "have you ever been arrested" and she did not check "yes", she can say goodbye to the job, unfortunately.

 

[rwdavis2]

Good to know. If she talked to the recruiter and told him that she didn't think it would come up (before the background check comes back), would that help her?

I guess her background check is going through the FBI so I'm sure it will go past 7 years for her.

Not likely the FBI is doing the check. The federal govt. is so backed up on doing background for security clearances I doubt they do job check. The most may be to run a computer search.
BD

 

[Handbag Lady]

It sounds funny to me that she's even considered arrested. Someone took the money out of her account and a check bounced. She took care of it, right, after finding out there was an actual issue?


I would just keep mum on it and if it shows up, she can say that it didn't even register for her that it was an arrest, and then she can explain the situation.

I mean, it isn't like she went around writing bad checks on purpose to defraud anyone.

 

[crashbb]

It sounds funny to me that she's even considered arrested. Someone took the money out of her account and a check bounced. She took care of it, right, after finding out there was an actual issue?


I would just keep mum on it and if it shows up, she can say that it didn't even register for her that it was an arrest, and then she can explain the situation.

I mean, it isn't like she went around writing bad checks on purpose to defraud anyone.

If you read the OP, there was one cheque that she didn't take care of, so it is not just a matter of a bounced cheque.

Long story short, 10 years ago she wrote a check to a local grocery store and it, along with three other checks, bounced because someone took money out of the account. She paid off the three checks but never apparently never realized she owed on the check to the grocery store. Two years later, she got a letter in the mail saying there was a warrant for her arrest. I guess she had been summoned to court for this $100 check, but didn't go. Not sure why. She went to our local police department and was arrested on the spot for not showing up to work.

Sounds like something that would (or should) definitely register as an arrest for someone.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

A bounced check is considered a "crime" against a financial institution.

When I worked for CitiGroup - we could not hire anyone who had been arrested/convicted of bouncing a check.

If they did not tell us, and it came back with their fingerprints - they were fired.

 

[LuvCuteBoys]

^^ I assume you mean if they didn't make good on the check? Not just for writing an NSF check? You normally have to owe a ton of money and get taken to court in order for this to even happen.

NSF checks mean fee income to the bank. There would have to be extenuating circumstances, I would think. Once you're hired at the bank, most frown on writing NSF checks. But they also usually offer some form of overdraft coverage. More fee income, no embarassment.

If she had money taken out of her account, she should have all the paperwork that she filled out at the time to back up her story. It might not help in this instance, but in the future she'll know that she should disclose it and that she has paperwork as proof of what happened, including the letters the bank should have written to the other places that had NSF checks.

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll let her know.