Telephoto999
Member
I woke up after a night of not being able to sleep. I need to vent. Here goes.
In late 2006 I was involved in an altercation. I was 19 years old. I was arrested, charged with misdemeanor battery and plead no lo contender in 2007, paid a small fine and took 3-4 anger management classes. I was on probation for 6 months. At the time this happened I was working for an IT managed services company in Atlanta and I was the youngest tech there by 10 years. I was well on my way to a bright fulfilling career in IT. This company relocated north of Atlanta and I was unable to make the drive, so I went back to the recruiting agency and they arranged some interviews for me. My most promising one in early 2008 was with the King & Spalding law firm in Atlanta. I went through 3 interviews and was told they wanted to hire me at 26$/hr. I was given a start date. Late on a Thursday evening I was called by the recruiter and informed that my background check came back with "marks" and I was unable to proceed with the job offer. I never lied, nor withheld information from them. As a result I was basically blacklisted by the recruiting agency and the law firm. Fast forward over the next 7 years. I've achieved many, many IT certifications and always stayed up to date with technology. Other techs with the experience and education I have can easily pull 70-80k /yr (very respectable in Georgia). I've applied to literally hundreds of jobs in that timespan. I've been on many, many interviews. Anytime I've made it to the face to face interview stage I've always received a second interview. I've received 4+ job offers over those years that have been retracted after my background check came back. In situations where I've been asked or it's been brought up the companies seemingly disappear off the face of the earth. Recently after a company asked me to submit to a background check I informed them of the mark on my record and this was the response I received-
-------------------------
"
Rachael O****** to me
Hi *****,
Thank you for your honesty. I really appreciate it. This would have an impact on your potential employment with *****. I welcome you to apply once you get it expunged.
I wish you the best of luck with your job search. Thanks again for your interest in working with ****
Thanks,
Rachael *****| HR Specialist
-------------------------------------------
How can such blatant and open discrimination be... legal? How can anyone be okay with a misdemeanor crime of any nature ruining someone's life on this level? I'm not looking for pity or support, as I took full responsibility for what I did... but I completed my sentence. Since when does part of my sentence include "probation, fine, community service, oh and you'll never be able to get any sort of a decent job the rest of your life"
I've never withheld the information or lied about it, I've just always tried to bring it up after the employer mentions it. In the cases it's mentioned before hand I explain the situation as best I can. I'm also sure I've been passed on many many times just by listing that I've been arrested on a job application. This has literally ruined my professional career and at this point I'm willing to say it's ruined my life. I'm still living at home. I have debt piled up which is going to take me a long long time to get out of even if I land a great job tomorrow. It's caused me to become insanely introverted and ruined any professional confidence I have. Depression... anxiety... it's all piled on.
According to many references online, Georgia is one of the worst states in the country for "reintegration" into society as it doesn't offer any type of expungement options. On top of that it also states that almost 33% of Georgia's adult population has a criminal record of some sort.
In 2013 a law was passed which now allows record expungement in Georgia... but only if you were arrested and not convicted. However over 90% of arrests lead to conviction which makes this option basically useless for people in my spot. For me though... there's hope. A clause in the law states that if you were under 21 when the conviction took place you can apply for expungement under what's known as "Youthful Convictions'. In early December I applied. I was denied. I went to an attorney and now $1500 (that I don't have) later and after a lengthy appeal process my application has now passed through the prosecuting DA's office and is sitting on a Judge's desk for approval. Getting my life back on track and progressing forward literally sit's in the hands of one man I've never met, never will meet and has no idea the pain and agony this has caused me.
/rant
In late 2006 I was involved in an altercation. I was 19 years old. I was arrested, charged with misdemeanor battery and plead no lo contender in 2007, paid a small fine and took 3-4 anger management classes. I was on probation for 6 months. At the time this happened I was working for an IT managed services company in Atlanta and I was the youngest tech there by 10 years. I was well on my way to a bright fulfilling career in IT. This company relocated north of Atlanta and I was unable to make the drive, so I went back to the recruiting agency and they arranged some interviews for me. My most promising one in early 2008 was with the King & Spalding law firm in Atlanta. I went through 3 interviews and was told they wanted to hire me at 26$/hr. I was given a start date. Late on a Thursday evening I was called by the recruiter and informed that my background check came back with "marks" and I was unable to proceed with the job offer. I never lied, nor withheld information from them. As a result I was basically blacklisted by the recruiting agency and the law firm. Fast forward over the next 7 years. I've achieved many, many IT certifications and always stayed up to date with technology. Other techs with the experience and education I have can easily pull 70-80k /yr (very respectable in Georgia). I've applied to literally hundreds of jobs in that timespan. I've been on many, many interviews. Anytime I've made it to the face to face interview stage I've always received a second interview. I've received 4+ job offers over those years that have been retracted after my background check came back. In situations where I've been asked or it's been brought up the companies seemingly disappear off the face of the earth. Recently after a company asked me to submit to a background check I informed them of the mark on my record and this was the response I received-
-------------------------
"
Rachael O****** to me
Hi *****,
Thank you for your honesty. I really appreciate it. This would have an impact on your potential employment with *****. I welcome you to apply once you get it expunged.
I wish you the best of luck with your job search. Thanks again for your interest in working with ****
Thanks,
Rachael *****| HR Specialist
-------------------------------------------
How can such blatant and open discrimination be... legal? How can anyone be okay with a misdemeanor crime of any nature ruining someone's life on this level? I'm not looking for pity or support, as I took full responsibility for what I did... but I completed my sentence. Since when does part of my sentence include "probation, fine, community service, oh and you'll never be able to get any sort of a decent job the rest of your life"
I've never withheld the information or lied about it, I've just always tried to bring it up after the employer mentions it. In the cases it's mentioned before hand I explain the situation as best I can. I'm also sure I've been passed on many many times just by listing that I've been arrested on a job application. This has literally ruined my professional career and at this point I'm willing to say it's ruined my life. I'm still living at home. I have debt piled up which is going to take me a long long time to get out of even if I land a great job tomorrow. It's caused me to become insanely introverted and ruined any professional confidence I have. Depression... anxiety... it's all piled on.
According to many references online, Georgia is one of the worst states in the country for "reintegration" into society as it doesn't offer any type of expungement options. On top of that it also states that almost 33% of Georgia's adult population has a criminal record of some sort.
In 2013 a law was passed which now allows record expungement in Georgia... but only if you were arrested and not convicted. However over 90% of arrests lead to conviction which makes this option basically useless for people in my spot. For me though... there's hope. A clause in the law states that if you were under 21 when the conviction took place you can apply for expungement under what's known as "Youthful Convictions'. In early December I applied. I was denied. I went to an attorney and now $1500 (that I don't have) later and after a lengthy appeal process my application has now passed through the prosecuting DA's office and is sitting on a Judge's desk for approval. Getting my life back on track and progressing forward literally sit's in the hands of one man I've never met, never will meet and has no idea the pain and agony this has caused me.
/rant