Changing jobs can be one of the most rewarding things you do in everyday life. It can also be among the most stressful—especially if you have a criminal history that you are worried your future employer might not understand. The truth is that most large employers use private background check companies to vet job applicants, so learning how to pass a background check can be essential to your success in changing jobs or improving your circumstances in life.
Most employment applications ask something similar to “have you ever been convicted of a felony?” And that question can disqualify you from employment, even if your mistake was many years ago. Some employers even go so far as to ask, “Have you ever been convicted of any crime?’ Private background check companies are then hired to verify the information you provide in response to these questions. In this digital age, where records flow from database to database with ease (and largely unregulated), if your past has some drama, how can you pass a background check?
In Louisiana, that question recently became easier to answer. The new Louisiana Expungement Law makes it possible for you to shield your Louisiana criminal record from most employers and allows you to answer “NO” to the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” as long as you have received an expungement. You can also expunge the record of the arrest, so that even that will be private.
After the 2014 and 2015 revisions to the Louisiana expungement rules, most felonies and virtually all misdemeanors can be expunged after a certain amount of time. This is a complicated area of the law, and an experienced Louisiana expungement attorney may be able to guide you through the process to clean your criminal record.