How Does a DUI Impact Your Employment and Future Career Prospects?

Use these links to jump to different sections:

• Potential Impacts of a DUI Charge
• Employment Implications
• Background Checks and Disclosure
• Expungement or Sealing Your DUI Record
• Professional Licenses and Certifications
• Career Prospects
• Speak With a DUI Attorney

Deciding to drink and drive can have far-reaching consequences that extend to all areas of your life. Your DUI can impact your professional career and job prospects. In addition to a driver’s license suspension hindering your ability to drive, your employer may decide to take punitive action, or you could have professional licensing consequences. Learn how your DUI arrest and conviction can impact your future job prospects.

Potential Impacts of a DUI Charge

There are immediate consequences of a DUI, such as a license suspension, arrest, and having your car towed. Long-term consequences will also continue to impact you, such as being unable to drive, limited driving privileges, or jail time. You may also find your employment and career progression negatively impacted.

“In general, being a convicted criminal is not a protected classification,” says Josh Goodbaum, who practices employment law in New Haven, Connecticut, for Garrison, Levin-Epstein, Fitzgerald & Pirrotti. “So, in Connecticut, for example, no law states that you can’t terminate somebody’s employment because of their criminal conviction, [or that] if you do, they can sue you.”

Employment Implications

Depending on your current employment, you may need to inform your employer of your DUI arrest. There is no legal requirement to tell your employer. However, you may have an employment agreement or contract requiring you to inform them. Depending on your employer, you may face disciplinary action or termination.

Ultimately, deciding whether or not to tell your employer is a personal decision based on your current employment situation. Speaking with a DUI attorney can provide insight into the best course of action. Goodbaum points out that while the law may not require you to report your DUI, other legal factors could require you to report it. “You might have an employment contract that requires you to disclose certain kinds of arrests and convictions. Your contract might say you agree to notify your employer if you get arrested for any one of a list of offenses. You could also be a member of a union or another professional organization that requires reporting as a condition of membership.”

While you could choose not to notify your employer, some regulated industries do require employers to perform routine periodic checks. Your employer would learn about your DUI arrest and/or conviction when they complete their checks. You would then face the consequences of the DUI and not reporting it.

You might have an employment contract that requires you to disclose certain kinds of arrests and convictions. Your contract might say you agree to notify your employer if you get arrested for any one of a list of offenses. You could also be a member of a union or another professional organization that requires reporting as a condition of membership

Background Checks and Disclosure

Once you decide to seek new employment, you will likely go through a background check during the application and hiring process. Potential employers will ask you to disclose your criminal convictions before running your criminal record. Depending on the type of background check they will run, you may need to disclose your misdemeanor or felony convictions.

Not disclosing your DUI arrest or conviction could disqualify you from moving forward in the hiring process. Alternatively, disclosing your criminal history could also disqualify you. This depends on the industry you work in and the company you are applying to.

Whether you need to disclose your DUI criminal history will also depend on whether or not you got your record expunged or sealed.

Expungement or Sealing Your DUI Record

Depending on the state you live in, you may or may not be able to expunge your DUI arrest from your criminal history. In the states where expungement is an option, you need to meet the eligibility requirements. The requirements vary significantly from state to state, so speaking with a DUI/DWI lawyer will help you understand your options. Some common requirements for expungement include:

• First DUI;
• Only misdemeanors;
• After a certain number of years;
• Under a set BAC threshold;
• When you turn a predetermined age.

For many states, having the option to seal or expunge relies on the facts surrounding your DUI case, for example, whether you had felony or misdemeanor charges and your case’s outcome.

In many states, expungement is not available for those with a DUI/DWI conviction. However, expungement is available for those arrested but not convicted, acquitted, found not guilty, charges dismissed, or charges not pursued. Because your ability to expunge your record changes with the outcome of your DUI case, speaking to an attorney immediately following your arrest is crucial for protecting your long-term criminal record.

Professional Licenses and Certifications

Industries that require certifications or professional licenses will have more consequences for DUI offenses. The most commonly known are commercial drivers with a commercial driver’s license (CDL). Once you have a DUI on your record, companies will likely not want you driving their commercial vehicle. The liability and insurance are just too great.

Other industries have standards for maintaining professional licenses. These professions require the general public’s trust by maintaining a higher standard:

• Pilots;
• Medical professionals;
• Lawyers;
• Engineers;
• Police officers;
• Military members;
• Individuals with government security clearance.

Your professional career may not fall into one of these categories, but you would still be unable to perform your job. If your position requires you to travel regularly or have a driver’s license, your DUI conviction will negatively impact your employment.

Career Prospects

Your DUI or DWI charge may impact future employment opportunities beyond your current job. You have no future career in some professions and industries because you simply cannot have a criminal record or a DUI conviction. In other industries, your DUI will not impact your professional progress or opportunities.

In some situations, it isn’t the industry but the individual companies that will make the final decision. One company may disqualify you, while another promotes you. In these situations, the value you bring to the company is more important than having a DUI on your record.

Connecticut is one of 27 states with a Ban the Box law that prevents employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal records until they have made a conditional job offer. As Goodbaum explains, companies in Connecticut cannot ask about criminal records on the initial job application. They must wait until after the screening and interview process. This benefits individuals with a DUI or other criminal history, as they can get fair consideration against other applicants. “In Connecticut, there are laws in place that protect a person from being disqualified from state employment or obtaining a professional license by virtue of a criminal conviction. There has to be an individualized inquiry.”

Speak With a DUI Attorney

Having a DUI on your driving record can have far-reaching impacts on your employment prospects. Speaking with a lawyer immediately following your DUI/DWI can help you establish an effective DUI defense. Your lawyer can provide legal advice on your rights and options so that you can make the best choice for your personal and professional life.

Visit the Super Lawyers directory to begin your search for an experienced criminal defense attorney. For more information on these legal issues, see our overviews on DUI/DWI and employment background check laws.