vectored

Looking for advice/info on how to answer an application question specifically with American. I was arrested in 1998, spent one night in jail and was charged with possession of marijuana and alcohol as a 17 year old. I am not really sure if I was convicted but I received community service and a fine. I ran my own FBI check and to my surprise this arrest shows up. Does the AA app asked if you have ever been arrested? Do the airline background checks go back 22 years? Is there anyway to remove this? Is there a way to find out if I was convicted? I am assuming since it showed up on my personal check that I was convicted?

Gloriousprofits

I would talk to a consulting company like Cage or Emerald Coast etc. but what they are going to say is put it on there and own it. I really don't think it will be that big of a deal given your age and time since it happened. If they sniff out any untruthfulness it's going to be instant game over.

vectored

Is there anyway to get the juvenile record removed? Will a major hire me? I have a top secret security clearance.

TheRotorTrash

Always a possibility... Sounds like a question for a lawyer.

TiredSoul

Yeah this is a lawyer question and not a forum question.
Good luck with it.

vectored

Yeah I am looking into expungement lawyers now. I was just curious if anyone had experience or knowledge of the majors (AA) still hiring guys with a record from over 20 years ago.

Bahamasflyer

I could be totally wrong, but common sense tells me that if you were able to get a TS clearance with a juvie record, that an airline will have nooooo problem with it.

I would absolutely err on the side of caution and list it.

rickair7777

There are some unknowns (to the likes of us) and uncertainty about airline background checks.

The legally required check (SIDA) involves access to the FBI's database. That database is NOT just a justice system database, it is a national security database, as much an intelligence as a law enforcement system. A few things to understand...

- It includes arrests, in addition to convictions, for serious crimes (assumed to be DUI and above). So you may not have been convicted, but you definitely need to find out for sure.
- The FBI does not necessarily have to expunge anything from that database, since, unlike court records, it is not accessible to the public.
- Expungements do not necessarily get processed and executed reliably at all levels, and there are probably commercial databases which retain all court records from the past.
- The SIDA rules have a statute of limitations for some lesser crimes.
- The SIDA restrictions apply only to convictions.
- Even though they are required to screen for specific SIDA convictions, airlines may actually be able to view an applicant's entire history, including arrests and convictions which are not SIDA relevant. This is why the conventional wisdom is to not hide anything which they ask for. Conventional wisdom also says don't tell them any derogatory info they did not specifically ask for.

Holding a TS does not necessarily guarantee that all airlines will be good with your history. The government takes a very practical approach to security clearances... are you CURRENTLY a security risk? They won't care much about a one time minor youthful indiscretion in the distant past. But airlines are also worried how your record will appear in the media if you have the misfortune to become newsworthy in the line of duty... in that case, ANYTHING from your past will be blown out of proportion in the interest of "news-worthiness", regardless of how long ago or how minor.

John Carr

Sorry, don't know specifics about AA. It's, like, just my opinion man........

....but based off of observations, guys I've known, what have you.

If this happened that long ago, when you were 17, you were a dumb kid. You made a dumb kid mistake, one that many have made, AND been hired with. Is you record since then (mostly) clean? As in, NO serious run-ins with the law? A ticket here or there doesn't really count. But no major issues? Is your flying record good? If so, KEEP IT THAT WAY.

Because it doesn't matter what airline you interview with, you're going to have to explain it. But ALSO, it doesn't matter what airline you interview with, you're likely to get a TMAAT that you messed up, made a mistake, how you did something wrong, what have you. It's a perfect slam dunk to check that question box and move on, in A LOT OF WAYS.

rickair7777

I agree that this incident will not be disqualifying, and can be explained at an interview.

The risk with something like this is if you don't disclose it, they find out, and conclude that you SHOULD have disclosed it based on what they asked. In that case you'd obviously be blacklisted.

The flip side of that is there is risk in checking boxes that you didn't have to check... that will make it harder to get past the computer screen to get to an interview where you can explain anything.

Remember, their filtering is not *just* to find the best candidate... it also serves to make it easier (less costly) for HR to find suitable candidates. Since EVERYBODY with a past criminal issue will have an excuse, HR then has to adjudicate that kind of history to get to the bottom of it. That takes time, money, and ultimately is actually risky for HR since they might adjudicate wrong... better to not have to adjudicate at all, and hire folks with clean records. So the process is intended to be *fair* to the HR folks who have to do the work, not so much the applicants.

You can make their adjudication very easy: Fess up, tell them what you learned, and then shut up. That applies to any explanation of adverse circumstances on the app or at an interview. That's a LOT easier to adjudicate than some guy's sob story about how he was framed by the cops, etc.