Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

background check hinders job

A friend had a job offer from the state to work with mentally challenged children/adults. He was told that he did not have to put any criminal charges he had that were over 7 years back. He did have some charges 14 and 15 years ago that showed up and the job offer was not available to him. Should all criminal records be disclosed to a potential employer and is there any action that can be taken on his part?


Asked on 8/29/06, 2:54 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Loeb Law Office of Stephen R. Loeb

Re: background check hinders job

Let me get this straight, your friend is applying for a position taking care of some potentially vulnerable people and you believe that it should be policy that relevant past criminal history should be overlooked.

Let's change the question slightlym adding a hypothetical. Your friend is hired but unfortunately snaps and becomes involved in a future incident of similar nature to his past criminal history with one of his charges; would you say to the family of a victim, that they should not sue the employer because your friend had a right to privacy?

Employers have an obligation to be aware of an applicant's past criminal history especially when the applicant will be dealing with the public, and most especially when the employee will be dealing with the most vulnerable members of the public. Not doing so, or ingnoring past relevant criminal behavior could expose the employer to significant liability, as it should.

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Answered on 8/29/06, 3:10 pm


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