According to a recent article in Los Angeles Times, actor and director, Mel Gibson, just had his drunk driving criminal records conviction expunged by a Malibu, California judge. For the few who don’t recall, Gibson caused a bit of a stir, after being pulled over for suspected drunk driving and speeding. He was allegedly obstreperous with the police and made antisemitic and other provocative remarks, before being hauled in.
For those who don’t know, having your records expunged is tantamount to your never having been convicted of a crime. Your records are sealed from public view and are no longer on file. Essentially, the records are secret. Usually, the process is lengthy and expensive, but in this case the judge decided Mel Gibson had fulfilled the terms of his probation, so it was time to give the actor a brand new start. Other convicted persons with less money and in this lousy economy may have to tough it out a whole lot longer.
Expunged records are an interesting subject when it comes to preemployment background checks and the way human resources must deal with them as part of the preemployment screening program. When researchers for background screening agencies conduct county criminal background searches, they are supposed to find no record at all in the court system. Nada. Nothing. But sometimes the researcher will find the absurd notice that there is no criminal report as the records have been expunged. This is akin to saying please ignore the pink elephant in your living room. Some deem the notice that records have been expunged as a bit disingenuous. The court is calling attention to something that is supposed to a secret.
To fortify rulings about expunged records, 13 states have regulations explicitly prohibiting the consideration of expunged or sealed records for employment purposes. They are
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Florida (with exceptions)
Hawaii
Illinois
Kansas
Ohio (this pertains largely to juvenile records here)
Oklahoma
Oregon (again it pertains mostly to juvenile records)
Rhode Island
Texas
Virginia
A few other states allow for the employers to review expunged records but also allow job applicants to deny the existence of their criminal histories if the records have been expunged.
Those employers who review expunged records and reject an employment candidate because of the expunged criminal records will likely be challenged, if the reasons for rejection are known.
As for Mel Gibson, he is one of the lucky few who doesn’t have to worry too much about how his criminal past will effect his finding work. As for his outbursts, that may be another matter.
