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If you are an attorney, or have knowledge that is reliable, please pm me.
A relative is moving here from Dallas. She’s applying for apartments & has a question about the background check portion. She has ZERO felonies, no misdemeanors. She was arrested & released, due to: no probable cause. Will that come up on a background check?
If she was found not guilty or her case was dismissed, it will not be on her record.
This isn't so much a legal question as a technical question. It's based on what background checking service they use.
Background checks are typically limited depending on what the client is willing to pay and how long they want to wait.
Even today there are many many many counties and small towns that don't have all records online or have old databases that don't interface with many national or state level systems.
Many employers and landlords limit the years they go back on searches. They also limit what types of criminal background to search.
If the employer is in sales they are likely to care most about crimes of moral turpitude (stealing mostly). An employer that has drivers is going to be most concerned with stealing but particularly dwi/dui. However, they may only care about it being within X years in the past. Sometimes this is dictated by client contracts. The more stringent the contracts/clients the more stringent the check. It's the same with housing and apt communities. Their worst fear? A predator, sex offender, domestic disturbances, property destruction/vandalism crimes.
***My answer? Tell her not to even mention it on the application.***
Lying on the application is not illegal either. It's just a right for them to not approve or hire you. The whole thing is rather silly. B/c 99% of the time they will reject you just by your admission (which is what they hope for with this tactic - a shortcut to rejecting "bad apples"). Since it's not illegal and only a reason for them to throw away your application why mention it at all?
It's probably >97-99% of the time it won't come back on background checks but *IF* she admits it up front on the application there is a high likelihood of immediate rejection.
Tell her not to mention it. It didn't happen.
Even if you have something a bit worse you do not ever ever ever admit criminal charges, arrests, tickets, etc on ANY job or housing application. I don't give a crap what some ridiculous ethical job hunting website or scare tactic legal site tries to tell you.
DO NOT EVER DO IT WITH EXCEPTION TO THE FOLLOWING:
Job applications with the CIA, FBI, NSA, or any other 3-letter agency or other govt institution. The other one would be an adoption which all require a complete nationwide FBI background check that takes up to a month (I've been through one doing my older sons adoption). First of all those are more likely to be considered valid legal documents and even more likely to try to prosecute you. However, the other reason is b/c those places *will* find it (if there is anything) and you will be done anyway.
I don't care what anyone tells you, a regular job or housing application is not a valid prosecutable legal document. It's a scare tactic for the most part to get you to admit something upfront. I repeat, lying on applications to regular jobs or housing is *not* illegal. I don't care what it says on the application (with exception to what I mentioned above). As much as the employer would like you to think it's a form of fraud it is not (it may be a form of "lying" but it is *not* legally "fraud"). Why? It's not a valid legal document and it isn't governed under any statute.
No. She should be fine assuming LE did what they were supposed to do. Checks are for convictions and your friend was NOT convicted based on the above.
Wrong!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Nascobar21
Read the job app closely and try to complete it accurately and honestly.
While lying on a job application may not be illegal, it becomes a matter of your personnel record, and, assuming you are offered the job and you accept, that discrepancy in and of itself when discovered may well be used as an excuse to discharge you.
As for the OP's question, most criminal arrests are a matter of record somewhere.
If it is in another state away from the job seeking applicant, it may or may show up in a local/state search but might be in a national criminal database.
My suggestion would be to find someone who has access to these types of data bases and have them do a surface search and then a deeper base search to see what shows up.
Then figure out how to handle that if necessary.
She’s not applying for a job she’s applying for an apartment. Actually she’s not the one applying for it, she’s just being added to the lease.
Yeah they told her at the office that they didn’t even need her employment prove. They just were doing a background check. She has no convictions except for minor traffic tickets like no proof of insurance from like 2004 I think she said, LOL. I kind of made fun of her and tell her oh yeah you’re definitely going to get denied for that LOL. But what she was arrested for was a felony. However, when she went to probable cause court, the judge basically looked at her and said I don’t even know why you’re here. There’s no probable cause for you to be arrested you’re free to go.Quote:
Originally Posted by mathguy
Quote:
Originally Posted by KaiHTX
With all that being said she should be good to go. She should have nothing to worry about.
Not a hobby related topic.
Moved to the proper forum.
What was the arrest for btw? My main concern would be that you have clarified now that it was a felony arrest. I can virtually assure you, just as Doc said above (when he corrected someone), unless it was expunged the arrest record, and thus, the charge (which is a felony as your report?), would be visible. Felonies are the easiest records to find or come back on background checks.Quote:
Originally Posted by KaiHTX
I would still advise not mentioning it as I usually friends anyway in all but a few small cases. You only hurt yourself to admit it. It's not illegal to not admit or even to "lie". Lying is not "fraud" in a prosecutable sense unless you are under oath or breaking a state or federal law; housing & job applications are not legal documents covered under statute.
Lying on a credit application or financial loan document such as a mortgage or car loan *is* a type of financial fraud and can be prosecuted and/or fined. However, I'd even tell most people not to worry about those except for mortgage and very large loans. They aren't going to do anything even in those cases (which are technically financial fraud) in 99+% of cases.
I've even done it for a mortgage. Though I wouldn't advise anyone to do that (!). :nono: One of my companies downsized like 11yrs ago and I was 2wks out from closing. I had no choice. I wouldn't pass underwriting without my last couple paychecks and everyone having been let go in Austin. I had just had kids and was set to move, had been building the home for 8mos. Couldn't let that happen. So me and a good buddy who ran another business setup a high level fake employment contract for his company (very similar to my other position), I got him to setup an employer payment account (similar to ADP), had a relative deposit $12K in his account, he issues me a formal paycheck through the employer payment service by depositing the $12K, so I could show my final month of 2 week paychecks under my "new employment" :tongue:. The loan closed even though it was a "new job" (fake). Never an issue. Sold the home in my divorce about 5yrs ago.
If being added to a lease, they are not doing a criminal background check, they are doing a credit check.