bode

So about 20 years ago I did some really dumb stuff as a teenager and pled out to four misdemeanors.

Now I’m applying to the airlines and there are questions about criminal records. If my record is sealed do I need to add it? If it’s added will it completely destroy my chances? I’m honestly not even sure the status.

I just re-upped my TS clearance and didn’t even have to mention it. Any thoughts?


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kansas

Disclose. Otherwise you'll spend your whole career looking over your shoulder.

rickair7777

Read the questions carefully. Answer exactly what they ask for, no more, no less.

Expunged or sealed is not guaranteed to apply to the FBI database which airlines will check.

The conventional wisdom is to never lie to an airline, if you get caught, your career will end immediately, no questions asked.

bode

Trust me I understand all that. My question comes from the fact certain states don’t allow employers to look to younger than 18 years old.

From what I have gathered expunged means you can legally say you have no criminal history.

I’m guessing I’m not the first guy in this situation and I’m hoping someone has some experience with it.

TiredSoul

If the question reads “ have you ever been arrested/convicted/plead guilty to” then answer truthfully.

rickair7777

In "normal" employment context, expunged means expunged.

In military/government/law enforcement, they want the truth and will polygraph your *** to find it.

Airlines are kind of a grey area, because they do have access to information that normal employers don't. A minor juvenile issue which got swept under the rug would "probably" not come to light. But there's a remote possibility that it might, via FBI database, social media, news media, etc. They might or might not fire you if they found out. It might not be legal for them to fire you, but they might do it anyway (certain legacy airlines had a reputation for hiring/firing who they wanted, and fielding the lawsuits as needed... they'd rather get sued than let people they didn't trust fly their planes).

For low-key juvenile stuff which didn't get into the news media, they probably won't find out. But there are anecdotes of people who have been burned.

Ultimately you have to decide, because there's no perfectly right answer

Macjet

The airlines do not have access to the same database that the military and law enforcement have access to. An arrest record will forever be on your record. Anyone can be arrested for anything. Period. Your conviction, however, is a different story. If it was expunged then it doesn't exist to civilians and you can honestly say that you have no convictions. In your TSA screening they will see the arrest, conviction, and expungement and grant your clearance. What you will not be able to do is apply to become an FFDO as your expunged conviction will prohibit you from becoming a LEO or a .mil commissioned officer (without a huge exemption).

If the question asks 'have you ever been convicted' and you have an expungement, then the answer is 'no'.

If the question asks 'have you ever been arrested' then the answer is 'yes' and in the further comment box 'charges were dismissed'.

In the interview be prepared to answer any questions that the arrest itself might bring about but do not speak of the expungement or any details that it dismissed. Some states handle expungement issues with the TSA differently. If you don't already have a TSA clearance expect a delay as they find all the facts.

Also be aware that an expungement is only valid as long as you live a 'clean' life thereon. If you were to be arrested again for criminal behavior the expungement will come back into play and you will be treated as a repeat offender.

JohnBurke

Obtain a copy of "Reporting Clear," and read it. No one should be attempting to apply for a job that requires any kind of background check, without it.

Most posters have a general grasp, but no one is quite correct.

Juveinile records aren't necessarily protected, and records held locally, once entered in the national crime information computer (NCIC) can be expunged locally, or sealed (not the same thing), but that does not necessarily have the same result in other systems.

"FBI checks" are typically conducted through one of several sources, including private, state, and federal. Checks include criminal history, and "wants" checks; outstanding warrants, etc. Not all information has been entered into NCIC; often certain citations, misdemeanors, etc, are held at the local level and don't get entered. The same is true of bench warrants in many cases, which may exist for nothing more than a parking citation. In other cases, they're dutifully uploaded to NCIC, and in other cases, they're cleaned out every year or two years as a file purge to clear old cases. I used to do that frequently for files that were never going to get squared; foreign visitors who had unpaid tickets and wouldn't be back, and so on.

If someone has a question regarding their background and doesn't know what will arise, they should obtain their own background information. Don't guess. Know. You can do it for a few dollars and a little bit of your time. Just about anything you might want to know about someone is available today for a small price and a bit of time. Contact your local police department, county sheriff's office, or the state bureau of criminal investigation and request your own records and wants checks. It's done all the time. Get your college transcripts. get all the information that can be obtained on you from drivers history to credit, and know your standing. Then there's no need to guess.

If someone asks a question, be honest. It's a lot easier to remember the truth.

rickair7777

Legally yes. But the problem is that the airlines have the opportunity to view things which should legally have no bearing on their decision... but it's really hard to enforce that.

If you have something which may or may not be visible, you need to read their questions very carefully and decide how to answer. Some legacies in the past were perfectly happy to play in the grey area and field lawsuits as needed rather than hire folks with questionable background items.

If you're in this boat, you have to choose your own balance between honesty, or relying on legal technicalities like expungement. Either way could cost you a job, and there's no way to know for sure.

The clear benefit to honesty is that they'll know up front and won't hire you if it's a problem for them. This will at least prevent you from getting fired while in new hire class if they stumble on something they don't like. Many airlines don't spend the money on the background checks until you show up for class.

Broad generalization, at least as far as .mil goes. Would depend on a lot of factors. Probably correct for law enforcement, they are VERY anal.

Legally perhaps. But you might choose to be more conservative.

Also state and local laws and procedures vary. Anyone who has a definitive answer for you *might* be correct in the jurisdiction in which he has experience. The jurisdiction of the legal matter, as well as the state laws where the airline has it's HQ are all factors.


Careful. If they think you're a "jailhouse lawyer" they'll find a way to not hire you. You want to come across as honest and forthcoming, and willing to succinctly address and take responsibility for your past issues. You don't want to give them info you don't need to, but that's a fine line sometimes.

Personally, I would rather not be hired (and keep my old job) than be terminated two weeks into new-hire class.

This would be variable by state/local law, and juvie might be different than adult. There's no one-size-fits-all answer.

John Burke's post is very relevant. Bottom line, it's hard to know the right answer in all cases, and you'll have to make your own decisions. Be as informed as possible.

bode

Thanks for the responses. As for the huge exemption for mil that isn’t entirely true. I’ve done 18 years in the AF, held top-secret clearance, and read into multiple programs with the 4 convictions on my record. I chatted with the Delta recruiting and this is what they said.

“Something minor, like misdemeanors when you were 17, are generally not a showstopper, especially if you’ve had a clean record since. People make mistakes in their youth, that’s not our concern, we’re concerned with what you’re like now. The way that things like that do really affect our view of an application is if a person does not disclose them, and then we find out later during a background check.

The point of this whole application is that we want to get to know you. The safest thing to do is always to disclose everything we ask for on the application. If you try to leave something off because you think it looks bad, and we discover it later (and our background check process is exhaustive), then we’ve found out something about you that has nothing to do with misdemeanors, but looks much worse.”

Pretty much on page with what everyone else said.


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