Best and worst crimes for employment?

[Caliga]

Cal = Lawful Neutral.

[dps]

So: how would you rank various crimes for employability?  Especially people who have been in hiring positions.

Here are the general categories in N.C. :

Wait, you're in NC now?

Sex: Solicit prostitution, solicit crimes against nature (blowjobs), sexual battery, indecent exposure

Sexual battery:  I don't want to hire you, period.  Don't really want to hire the flasher, either.  Soliciting, I wouldn't really worry about.

Drugs: Marijuana <half ounce, drug paraphernalia, small amounts of narcotic pills

Not necessarily my personal opinion, but pretty much every job I've had has been with an employer that's pretty firmly anti-illicit drug use.  Left to my own judgement, I'd be more forgiving about past drug usage.

Booze: Open container in public, open container in car, < 21 y.o.

Hiring someone with one offense wouldn't be a problem for me, but if you're a repeat offender, frankly I'd probably just write you off as a drunk. 

Money: Larceny, unlawful concealment (= shoplifting lite), worthless checks, possession of stolen goods, larceny by employee

No way do I hire you.

Cars: DWI, driving while license revoked, driving without a valid license, speeding >15 or >30

For DWI, see booze above.  The others wouldn't be a problem at all.

Weapons: Carrying a concealed weapon - gun, carrying a concealed weapon - non-gun (knife, taser, etc.)

No problem.

Gettin rowdy: Communicating threats, disorderly conduct, intoxicated and disorderly, 2nd degree trespass, breaking and entering (a vacant building)

A major red flag, but not an absolute bar to hiring.

Fightin: Simple assault, assault on a female, assault by pointing a gun,

Similar to "gettin rowdy" except even more of a red flag.  Simple assault would probably be less of a red flag than the other forms of assault.

Police problems: Resist/obstruct/delay a public official, fictitious info to police, assault on a government official

Ficticious info to police--you lie to the cops, you'll probably lie to me, so I don't want you.  The rest you'd better have a damn good explanation for, though I don't consider assaulting a government official any worse than assaulting anybody else.

Keep in mind that when I was making hiring decisions, it was for entry-level positions.  Which, as you pointed out, is what most of the people you're working with are going to be applying for.

[Maximus]

Sex: Solicit prostitution, solicit crimes against nature (blowjobs), sexual battery, indecent exposure

Battery = no. the rest is a non-issue

Drugs: Marijuana <half ounce, drug paraphernalia, small amounts of narcotic pills

Don't really care, except perhaps for liability issues

Booze: Open container in public, open container in car, < 21 y.o.

Open container in car: see DUI. The rest: non-issue

Money: Larceny, unlawful concealment (= shoplifting lite), worthless checks, possession of stolen goods, larceny by employee

There are few jobs for which I would hire any of these.

Cars: DWI, driving while license revoked, driving without a valid license, speeding >15 or >30

DUI should be a felony if it is not and would be treated as such. The rest depend on the circumstances.

Weapons: Carrying a concealed weapon - gun, carrying a concealed weapon - non-gun (knife, taser, etc.)

Can't see a good enough reason for this to justify breaking the law, but could be convinced, maybe

Gettin rowdy: Communicating threats, disorderly conduct, intoxicated and disorderly, 2nd degree trespass, breaking and entering (a vacant building)

No thanks, I'll stick with adults.

Fightin: Simple assault, assault on a female, assault by pointing a gun,

I don't have time for this.

Police problems: Resist/obstruct/delay a public official, fictitious info to police, assault on a government official

Depends on the circumstances and the job

[Ideologue]

if you want the job bad enough, and it's not for a LEO or anything that requires a TS or TS/SCI or anything like that, fucking lie.

If they do and I hired that person, they better hope I never, ever find out. I will rip a hold in time/space moving so fast to terminate.

At the same time, you basically said you'd bar employment for all but really minor stuff, so what, exactly, is the benefit to not lying?  Not being found out a year later and getting canned, and having to explain either the termination or the gap in employment?  Sure, but most people like to eat.

[Ideologue]

CdM is spot on about how you should lie by the way. I've read tons of articles on background check firms, and the WSJ ran one itself on the author of one of the articles (he knew he had a minor misdemeanor in a given state) I believe none of the $50+ background check firms found his conviction, and most contained outright incorrect information (wrong past addresses, wrong past court records etc.)

Even the federal government outside of a band of jobs that involve national defense, law enforcement, scientific research and etc barely conducts any background checks.

I had to do a pound-the-pavement criminal records search on myself for when I was planning to apply to the bar (actually, I guess they pulled me back in so I reckon I'll be taking it in Feb after all ), since the SC Supreme Court requires cert'ed copies of every nonsense thing you ever did, so you have to go each individual court, and as you know my late teens and early twenties involved several courts--the biggest hang-up was a moving violation that involved an over $100 fine; I still don't even know what court it was in.

There were items on the checklist that only someone with intimate, certain knowledge of the event could acquire.

[viper37]

Sexual battery is indeed bad, though people usually let it pass. Indecent exposure often gets giggles from people. Sure, police would detain (temporarily) someone if he/she is walking naked by the street, but they'll be let out soon enough if they're not dangerous to others.

there was a case of what seems to be battery in Quebec city last year.  Some dude followed women in the streets, faked masturbation and the "climax" sprayed them with purell soap.
So, if this is battery, there's no way I'd be hiring that kind of man.

[Barrister]

Wow, seems pretty fucked up.  It doesn't seem helpful to deny a person useful employment for getting caught soliciting a prostitute.  I'm starting to think that there need to be laws against considering minor offenses in employment decisions.  Taken individually, it's just your right as a business owner.  However, taken together, it amounts to a blacklisting.

Until such time that the government forces businesses at large to hire reprobates, they will never choose to do so.  Why would I hire a felon when in almost all cases there's someone else available with similar or the same skills who is not a felon?

Co-incedentally, thats why a bunch of complete losers with multi-page criminal records manage to get jobs in Alberta - they can't find anyone else.  Mind you they are shit jobs working out in the bush, but there you have it.

[Barrister]

So: how would you rank various crimes for employability?  Especially people who have been in hiring positions.

Here are the general categories in N.C. :

----

Sex: Solicit prostitution, solicit crimes against nature (blowjobs), sexual battery, indecent exposure

Drugs: Marijuana <half ounce, drug paraphernalia, small amounts of narcotic pills

Booze: Open container in public, open container in car, < 21 y.o.

Money: Larceny, unlawful concealment (= shoplifting lite), worthless checks, possession of stolen goods, larceny by employee

Cars: DWI, driving while license revoked, driving without a valid license, speeding >15 or >30

Weapons: Carrying a concealed weapon - gun, carrying a concealed weapon - non-gun (knife, taser, etc.)

Gettin rowdy: Communicating threats, disorderly conduct, intoxicated and disorderly, 2nd degree trespass, breaking and entering (a vacant building)

Fightin: Simple assault, assault on a female, assault by pointing a gun,

Police problems: Resist/obstruct/delay a public official, fictitious info to police, assault on a government official

-----

Obviously, larceny by employee has got to look pretty bad, but what about the rest?

I don't know if it's much help, since it's coming from a Canadian perspective, but here's what Canadian defence lawyers will fight over (and what they'll gladly plead to):

(1) Sex crimes - absolutely fight if they can.  That stuff if hell on a criminal record, even a simple Solicitation charge.  The thing is though a first offender can be diverted (i.e. they go to John school) and wind up with no record as a result.

(2) Drugs - simple possession is not too big a deal, but still gets you a record.  Again, first time offender can get diversion and have no record.  Of course, any trafficking charge gets fought.

(3) Booze - all of these are not criminal offences, and would not appear on a criminal records check.  Nobody cares.

(4) Money - a shoplifting charge by a first offender can be diverted, and usually is.  Anything else is seriously fought by defence.

(5) Cars - a DUI conviction is like poison, and gets fought tooth and nail.  Some driving while disqualified charges are criminal and equally posonous, others no big deal (depends on how and why your suspended).  The rest are not criminal charges and nobody cares.

(6) Weapons - those are pretty serious, do form a criminal record.  Firearms charges are very serious, non-firearms not so much (but given a recent rash of stabbings we've been cracking down).

The rest are offences of violence - generally reasonably serious, do form a criminal record, but not a complete bar to employment.

[CountDeMoney]

There were items on the checklist that only someone with intimate, certain knowledge of the event could acquire.

Outstanding warrants for assault aren't all that intimate.

[DGuller]

There were items on the checklist that only someone with intimate, certain knowledge of the event could acquire.

Outstanding warrants for assault aren't all that intimate.

Maybe not those, but plenty of other items on his rap sheet are.

[Barrister]

There were items on the checklist that only someone with intimate, certain knowledge of the event could acquire.

Outstanding warrants for assault aren't all that intimate.

In Canada all you can find out is about convictions, not outstanding charges (in general - my job was more involved obviously).

However, unlike what OvB said, there is a national databank which (although it has way too many missing convictions) does give police (and you, if you request a check) easy access to all of your convictions.

[Ideologue]

There were items on the checklist that only someone with intimate, certain knowledge of the event could acquire.

Outstanding warrants for assault aren't all that intimate.

I never had an outstanding warrant for assault.

[CountDeMoney]

I never had an outstanding warrant for assault.

Uh huh.

[HVC]

There were items on the checklist that only someone with intimate, certain knowledge of the event could acquire.

Outstanding warrants for assault aren't all that intimate.

I never had an outstanding warrant for assault.

arrested right away, huh?

[Monoriu]

I suppose there are plenty of jobs out there that don't care about minor offences.  Vehicle drivers, fast food workers, delivery boys, janitors etc.  But there is no way one can get an office job with a record.