When To Hire Someone With A DUI Despite Criminal Record

When interviewing candidates for an open position, you may sometimes be caught off guard by information that comes back from a background check of potential hires. After all, job candidates are only human. Humans make mistakes. However, this does not always have to disqualify them from being selected for a job. This is not the kind of thing they teach you about in any HR courses you have attended. Find out what hiring managers like you should consider when you are deciding whether or not to hire someone with a DUI or other non-violent offense below.

Honesty

The first thing you want to consider is whether or not the employee was up-front and honest about his or her previous indiscretion. Of course, you should not expect interviewees to bring it up on their own. That may be expecting a bit too much. However, if you ask potential job candidates about previous offenses and they tell you they have a clean record, then the background check comes back and proves them wrong, this is an issue. You certainly do not want to hire someone with a DUI or any other offense if they are dishonest too.

Repeat Offenders

Is the candidate a repeat offender? This is definitely something you need to consider when hiring people with a record. If you interview a candidate with a DUI, it is not a definitive indication that they are irresponsible, reckless or an addict. Even using a Denver DUI defense lawyer, a record with numerous DUI offenses is an issue. Multiple offenses should certainly raise a red flag in your considerations. Consider how many charges a non-violent offender has been convicted of before you decide whether or not to hire them.

Statistics

You also want to factor in the statistics of the current talent pool in America. Among working-age Americans, nearly 40% have a criminal record. If you decide to not hire candidates with a criminal record, you are eliminating over 40% of the talent pool. This will make it much more difficult to find and hire top talent to fill open positions quickly. Keep this in mind when you are deciding whether or not to hire someone with a nonviolent offense.

Time

How long ago was the candidate charged with a DUI? This is one of the most important considerations for hiring managers to keep in mind. Everyone makes mistakes, especially when they are young. However, a youthful mistake is entirely different than an adult being reckless just a few short months ago. If a job candidate got charged with a DUI and is still looking for community service ideas to fulfill their sentencing, you may not be willing to take a risk. However, if a potential hire committed a DUI crime 8, 10 or even 15 years ago, this is different. They have surely had enough time to learn their lesson and prove they have made a change over those years. Consider how long ago the offense occurred when trying to decide whether or not to hire someone.

Position

Obviously, you might not hire a DUI offender for a driving position. This should be common sense. Keep in mind what position you are hiring for when making your decision. If you are hiring for a 9-5 desk job, like a forensic accountant position, chances are a DUI charge will have no bearing on their ability to take care of job responsibilities. However, if you are hiring for a night shift or a driving position, you may want to be a little bit more selective when making your decision. Always keep the job title in mind when deciding whether to hire someone with a DUI.

If you are a hiring manager, you know that is exceedingly rare to find the absolute perfect candidate to fill position at your company. Humans are not perfect, that is for sure. Not hiring someone with a criminal record will immediately eliminate about 40% of the talent pool available to you. That is why you should certainly consider hiring someone with a DUI or other non-violent offense. Just remember to keep the above considerations in mind when you make your decision. You may wind up being pleasantly surprised at just how good of a decision it was for you to hire someone with a DUI.

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