If a company asks if convicted of a felony in the past 7 years and you were convicted over 7 years ago can they run a background check prior to the 7 years?
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If a company asks if convicted of a felony in the past 7 years and you were convicted over 7 years ago can they run a background check prior to the 7 years?
I filled out an application for health service work, and was told by management
that my felony 3 ct forgery 8 years ago would not interfere with my being
hired. On the application it asked if I had been convicted in the last 7 years,
and I answered No. HR did a background check and pulled the felony from 8 years
ago, and are now saying I am disqualified from working there. Do I have any
options? This is in Florida.
Asked on April 16, 2016 under Employment Labor Law, Florida
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 8 years ago | Contributor
No, you don't have any options, unfortunately. Employment is employment at will: employers may freely decide who to hire or not hire, so long as they do not discriminate against any specifically protected categories or classes of people. However, the law does not protect people who have a criminal (especially felony) record; an employer may make such a record the basis for not hiring, and may run background checks on prospective employees to find such records.
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