Garrison Law partner Josh Goodbaum was recently featured in a Super Lawyers article on how a DUI charge can affect one’s employment.
The article, entitled “How Does a DUI Impact Your Employment and Future Career Prospects?,” discusses driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs can significantly affect your professional life. Josh explains that “being a convicted criminal is not a protected classification…. 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.”
However, you may not be able to hide your DUI conviction. Not only will it be on your criminal record, which will likely be reviewed during a background check, but as Josh explains, “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.” A DUI charge can also undermine your ability to obtain or hold the professional licenses and certifications needed to perform your job.
Josh goes on to explain, however, that Connecticut is one of the states with a Ban the Box law, which prevents employers from asking about criminal records at certain points in an interview process. Josh shares that, “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.”
You can read the full article here.