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Random background check at my work and I'm nervous. Advice needed!


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Good afternoon,

 

I have been an employee with my current company since January 2011 (coming up on my 3 year anniversary). I started at a decent position making $35K a year, and after 1.5 years, was promoted to a Manager position within my department. I currently make around $65K a year. I work in the financial services industry.

 

I was hired immediately out of college. At the time, my credit was in poor shape due to several dumb financial decisions I made with credit card usage, resulting in collection accounts. I was able to finally resolve all thise accounts paid in full last year; however, my credit score is pretty low right now as I am working on rebuilding my credit.

 

With that being said, I believe I got hired even with my poor credit. I am assuming they did a background check and pulled my credit, considering I signed an authorization sheet and everything during the interview process.

 

In July 2012, I was charged with a DWI in my city. I went through the proper court procedures and they officially charged me with a DWI. It does NOT show up on public records considering it was charged as a municipal offense, and not county/state.

 

So, my two dings against me are: DWI and poor credit.

 

Today - a representative from our HR department contacted me and stated that, during an audit, they found that they need to run my background check in order to be compliant. They had me sign a few documents electronically, authorizing them to do the background check.

 

I have been a strong employee of this company for 3 years now. I have received either 'High' or 'Superior' ratings on each of my 6 total performance reviews throughout my tenure here.

 

My question is - can they still hold those two areas (DWI and poor credit) against me and terminate my employment?

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They cannot fire you for poor credit. or the DWI.

And they likely did a credit report when they hired you...and still hired you.

I would relax.

 

They absolutely did as you are required to be bonded. Ive been hired by 2 of the biggest banks in the country with both a DUI and a low credit score.

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Great. That's a huge sigh of relief! Thank you to all the ENA vets on here for your quick responses - I really appreciate it Now I can go back to work at ease!

 

I also just want to throw my two cents in, just to give you more piece of mind--I am in HR, and I run BG's all the time. What likely happened here is--they are running an audit on ALL employees, and when they pulled your file from three years ago, they either don't have application or proof of a background check. I'm sure they ran it when you first started, but sometimes things get misplaced, thrown away, shredded, etc...and because the audit requires this documentation, they just need to get it again and put in your file. Not a big deal at all.

 

On a side note--congrats to you for working on your credit score!

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If you live in the U.S., most jurisdictions are employment-at-will. that means you can quit anytime you want with no penalty, and they can fire you anytime they want, as long as the firing isn't illegal (i.e., you can't be fired for reporting you were sexually harassed).

 

So it depends on why they are investigating you. Some financial institutions have a very high standard, where they may not want on staff anyone they think might have reason to embezzle money now or in future. Even if there's no evidence that you've done it. Or they may have seen some suspicious things in the books, and are investigating everyone and not just you to see if there is anything suspicious in the numbers or criminal records.

 

So you have to be philosophical about this... no job is ever 100% secure. You could love your job, love your boss, etc. then the company has financial trouble and lays people off. Or you love your boss, then they hire someone new who is a jerk and your job turns from wonderful to horrible. So nothing is set in stone, either for positive or negative and you can't really guess what they are doing or why they are doing it. Only they know, and worrying does no good because you will find out one way or another and the worry won't change anything. so with jobs, it is best to remember it is just a job and you should keep your skills and resume up in case things turn for the worse. If not, great, you can have a long and happy career where you are, but if not, then you just start looking for a new job and don't take it too personally.

 

Your best bet here is to just be the best employee you can be... and to stop doing things like drinking and driving or any other activity that might be illegal or unwise and that might show up on your record and negatively influence your employers impressions of you. If you are handling other people's money or the company's money, the standard is very high, and you need to live in a way that fosters trust. It is great that your credit is improving, but in future raise the bar on things like drinking and driving.

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Thanks, lavenderdove. You're absolutely right. Everyone is replacable. I've worked to hold myself to a higher standard.

 

I will say, on the DWI thing - my former boss (before he moved to a different department) brought this up to me in his office a few days after it happened. He saw my name in the newspaper under the police blotter. We chatted about it and he told me that I need to be careful and that I'm held to a higher standard and need to set a good example.

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Things are so much more easy going in Australia. The only background checks done are on people who are working with children or the elderly. This is a police check to make sure you aren't a sex offender.

There is never a check on your credit worthiness or police record for any other position.

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I just don't understand why a credit score why stop someone from getting a job unless it's for a finance position.

I can tell you exactly why employers do this.

 

It goes back to your ethics. If you have bad credit history it means to companies that you keep making impulsive bad decisions, are irresponsible, and pose as a liability. Now add background checks for that. Companies that forego these sudden procedures means someone F'd up, cost the company, and now they want to make sure other managers don't do the same mistake.

 

If you are in a management position, you are dealing with company finances and are held accountable of making good business decisions. The OPs DUI will definitely be a considered factor of making a serious poor decision that could of easily killed someone. sorry, I have no respect for people who drink and drive- one of my close friends was killed last year and another good person in my small town community died a couple weeks ago because of drunk drivers.

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From what I understand, they are looking for serious issues with your credit, like, indications that you really screwed companies or people over that allowed them to put judgements against you. I don't know how they rate debt incurred at a young age that you are still/trying to pay off that didn't necessarily come about as you trying to screw people over. Obviously they are going to be wary of someone who has negative marks on their credit profile for non-payment of rent, car payments, phone/cable bills, etc.

 

I had ZERO credit when I applied to my current job (I have pretty good credit now as I finally got a couple CCs and built it up) and I know my job pulled my credit because they asked permission too. Obviously it didn't seem to matter.

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Sometime people get bad credit due to financial hardships and unexpected situations

If you are making purchases that you cannot pay off or keep missing payments on, that shows irresponsibility and poor decision making. It's not a good reflection if you are in a management position. That is how companies who insist on these background checks view it. Just like any other job, they could care less what your personal problems are.

 

Even Car dealerships, jewelry stores (if you are buy wedding bands and are applying for a loan), real estates, etc. that do credit checks hold the same view against someone before allowing you to make a purchase. Your credit history is your physical proof to show that you are a responsible person.

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If you are making purchases that you cannot pay off or keep missing payments on, that shows irresponsibility and poor decision making. It's not a good reflection if you are in a management position. That is how companies who insist on these background checks view it. Just like any other job, they could care less what your personal problems are.

 

Even Car dealerships, jewelry stores (if you are buy wedding bands and are applying for a loan), real estates, etc. that do credit checks hold the same view against someone before allowing you to make a purchase. Your credit history is your physical proof to show that you are a responsible person.

 

I am talking about if you have no income and have to live off your credit card like I am doing now.

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