How a DUI charge or conviction may affect your chances for employment

A DUI charge or conviction in Colorado or anywhere in the nation can have major ramifications you might not anticipate. It may affect your career now and later on. There can be an impact to your professional and personal reputation, ruptured relationships between you and friends, family, superiors at work or colleagues, and legal fees, plus all sorts of other negative and painful problems that can crop up. Even if you were involved in a DUI accident in which no one lost their life or was injured, this is nevertheless a serious matter. The best thing to do is not to drink or take drugs and get behind the wheel of a vehicle. But if you did, there’s a lot to consider afterward, especially if you are looking for employment. There can be snags in your career caused by a DUI charge or conviction on your record when you apply for a job and a potential employer does a background check.

What might happen if you are charged or convicted of DUI and you are seeking employment

• A DUI conviction will show up on a check of your criminal record and probably on your driving record.
• Employers can exercise a fairly wide degree of latitude when it comes to hiring someone with a DUI on their record. They may consider issues such as the company’s policy or regulations concerning hiring a person with a DUI, whether the job involves driving a vehicle and if the DUI conviction was a misdemeanor (first offense) or a felony (repeat offense, whether injury or death was involved or minor children were involved).
• An employer may weigh a recent DUI conviction differently than one that occurred several years ago if the person has not had another driving arrest or conviction since.

Being charged with DUI can be a complicated situation legally. An experienced attorney can advise you of your rights and options.