Facing criminal charges in New Jersey can have a ripple effect on many aspects of your life, including your employment. Whether it’s an indictable offense or disorderly persons offense, the consequences can be long-lasting. Understanding how criminal charges may impact your job opportunities is crucial.
If you’re facing such charges, working with a criminal defense lawyer can help minimize the damage and protect your rights.
1. Criminal Background Checks in New Jersey
One of the first things many employers do during the hiring process is run a criminal background check. New Jersey’s Opportunity to Compete Act (also known as “Ban the Box”) limits when an employer can ask about your criminal history. Employers are not allowed to ask about your criminal record until after the first interview. However, once your background is reviewed, certain charges could impact your ability to secure a job.
What Information Will Employers See?
- Convictions: Indictable offenses, disorderly persons offenses, and other convictions will appear on your record and can be considered by employers.
- Pending charges: Even if you haven’t been convicted, pending charges can still show up on a background check, which may lead to discrimination by potential employers.
- Arrests: While an arrest without a conviction generally won’t be weighed as heavily, employers may still take it into consideration.
Having a criminal defense lawyer is critical because they can work to get charges reduced or dismissed, which can help limit the damage to your employment prospects.
2. Employer Policies on Criminal Convictions
Every employer has its own policy regarding employees with criminal records. Some may be more lenient, while others may have strict rules that prohibit hiring individuals with certain convictions. For instance, jobs in industries like healthcare, finance, and education are likely to be more restrictive about hiring people with criminal backgrounds.
Examples of Employer Restrictions:
- Healthcare professionals: A conviction for a serious offense, such as fraud or theft, can disqualify you from positions in healthcare, particularly where trust and access to sensitive information are involved.
- Teachers and school staff: Criminal charges related to violence, drug possession, or sexual offenses can make it difficult to maintain or obtain employment in schools or educational institutions.
- Financial sector employees: An indictable offense, especially for theft or fraud, can prevent you from working in banking or financial services.
A criminal defense lawyer can help negotiate with prosecutors to reduce charges to a disorderly persons offense or dismiss charges altogether, helping you avoid employment consequences.
3. Impact of Indictable Offenses vs. Disorderly Persons Offenses
Both disorderly persons offenses and indictable offenses can affect your job prospects, but the degree of impact depends on the severity of the charge and the nature of your work. Convictions for indictable offenses carry much harsher penalties and restrictions, while disorderly persons offense convictions may have a more limited impact depending on the industry.
How Indictable Offenses Affect Employment:
- Long-term disqualification: Convictions for indictable offenses can permanently disqualify you from certain careers, particularly in government positions, law enforcement, and jobs that require professional licensing.
- Loss of professional licenses: Many jobs in fields such as law, medicine, and real estate require licensing. A conviction can lead to the revocation of your professional license, making it impossible to continue working in that field.
How Disorderly Persons Offenses Affect Employment:
- Potential disqualification: While not as severe as indictable crimes, convictions for disorderly persons offenses, such as theft or assault, can still result in employers passing you over for a position.
- Less permanent consequences: In some cases, disorderly persons offenses can be expunged from your record, helping you regain employment opportunities.
If you’ve been charged with a crime, regardless of severity, working with a criminal defense lawyer can provide the legal support needed to fight the charges and minimize their impact on your career.
4. Effects of Criminal Charges on Current Employment
Even if you are already employed, criminal charges can jeopardize your current job. Employers may view criminal charges as a breach of trust, particularly if the offense is related to your job duties. In some cases, criminal charges or convictions can lead to immediate termination or disciplinary action.
Examples of How Criminal Charges Can Affect Employment:
- Loss of security clearances: Jobs requiring security clearances, such as those in government or defense, may be at risk if you are charged with a crime.
- Company policies: Many employers have policies that require employees to disclose any criminal charges. Failing to report an arrest or conviction could lead to termination for violating company policy.
- Job suspension or firing: Depending on the nature of your charges, your employer may place you on suspension or terminate your employment outright, even before a conviction.
A criminal defense lawyer can work with you to navigate this situation and possibly reduce the charges, which can help you retain your job.
5. Expunging a Criminal Record in New Jersey
For those who have been convicted of a crime, expungement can offer a way to move forward without the long-term consequences of a criminal record. Expungement essentially seals your criminal record from the public, allowing you to legally deny the existence of a conviction in most situations, including job applications.
Key Points About Expungement in New Jersey:
- Eligibility: In New Jersey, certain convictions, such as disorderly persons offenses or specific non-violent crimes, can be expunged from your record. However, more serious crimes, like first-degree offenses, are not eligible.
- Waiting periods: There are waiting periods for expungement eligibility, which vary depending on the type of crime. For example, you may need to wait five years after a disorderly persons offense conviction to apply for expungement.
Consulting a criminal defense lawyer can help determine whether you qualify for expungement and guide you through the process of clearing your record, improving your employment prospects.
6. How a Criminal Defense Lawyer Can Help
If you’ve been charged with a crime in New Jersey, it’s important to act quickly and seek legal representation from a criminal defense lawyer. The legal process is complex, and a skilled attorney can help you navigate it, protect your rights, and minimize the impact on your future employment.
What a Criminal Defense Lawyer Can Do:
- Negotiate reduced charges: A lawyer can work with the prosecution to negotiate a reduction in charges, helping you avoid convictions that can devastate your career.
- Fight for dismissal: In some cases, your lawyer may be able to get the charges dropped entirely if there is insufficient evidence or if law enforcement violated your rights.
- Help with expungement: If you’ve already been convicted, a lawyer can assist with the expungement process, allowing you to move forward without a criminal record haunting your employment opportunities.
Contact The Scardella Law Firm LLC for Aggressive Criminal Defense Representation in New Jersey
If you’re facing criminal charges in New Jersey, don’t let your employment be jeopardized by a conviction. The Scardella Law Firm LLC specializes in providing aggressive and strategic defense to protect your rights and your future.
Call Lauren E. Scardella, Esq. today at 609-372-5285 or fill out an online contact form to schedule a confidential consultation. Let her help you fight for the best possible outcome in your case!