Can I Lose My Job If I’ve Been Arrested?

An arrest on criminal charges may affect your life beyond the potential penalties that accompany a conviction, including your current and future employment. The best approach for minimizing the impact of an arrest on employment and other matters is to get representation by an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible so you can aggressively and immediately challenge the charges. Avoiding a conviction is a crucial part of any strategy to address employment concerns after an arrest.

How an Arrest or Conviction May Impact Employment

Arrests and convictions are public records, so the information about your arrest or conviction is available to your current employer and future prospective employers. Georgia does not have a specific law relating to disclosure by an employee to an employer about an arrest or conviction, so you need to decide whether to tell your employer about your criminal case based on your overall employment situation and terms.

A wide range of factors enter into an employer’s determination of whether an arrest or conviction affects your current employment or consideration for a new job. Every situation is unique and will be evaluated by the employer based on the specific circumstances relating to the charges and job responsibilities.

Georgia does not have a law relating to job termination after an arrest or conviction, but Georgia is an “at will” employment state. That means an employer can terminate an employee from a job at any time, for any reason, as long as the dismissal does not violate a specific applicable law (such as non-discrimination laws). The at-will rule can be modified by the terms of an employment contract between the employer and employee, but in the absence of a contract, an employer does not need a reason to terminate an employee after an arrest or conviction for criminal charges.

Generally, the factors that typically affect an employer’s decision concerning retaining or terminating an employee after an arrest or conviction include:

• The nature and seriousness of the criminal charge
• The relevant terms of an employment contract between the employer and employee
• Whether the charges or penalties affect the employee’s ability to perform their job duties
• Whether the charges reflect negatively on the employer or employee in a public way
• Relevant policies of the employer, such a zero-tolerance policy for criminal activity or policies on arrests and convictions contained in an employment contract, employee handbook, or company code of conduct
• Whether the job requires a professional license that is affected by the arrest or conviction

For example, a DUI arrest or conviction that involves loss of driving privileges (administratively or as part of the DUI penalty) will be an important consideration for the employer if the job in question requires driving as an essential part of job duties, such as any type of delivery driver.

Employment situations and job responsibilities vary greatly, as do types of criminal charges. When an employer evaluates the effect of an arrest or conviction on an employee’s ability to continue in a position (or be hired for a new position), the employer takes into account the factors they consider to be relevant and important in the specific situation. The factors listed above illustrate the types of factors an employer is likely to take into account, but other factors may be important in the particular circumstances.

Addressing Employment Concerns After an Arrest or Conviction

If you are arrested and are concerned about how the arrest may affect your current job, getting legal representation in the criminal case is an essential step that you should take at the earliest possible time. If you can avoid a conviction on the criminal charges, it may help your employment situation considerably. At Criminal & DUI Law of Georgia, our criminal defense lawyers aggressively contest all types of criminal charges, in order to get the best possible result in the case, which includes minimizing the adverse impacts, such as potential penalties and other effects.

Like most criminal defense lawyers, our attorneys at Criminal & DUI Law of Georgia are not employment law attorneys. We do not advise our clients on their employment situation or rights as part of our representation in the criminal case. If you are concerned about the effect of criminal charges (or a conviction) on your job, you may wish to consider consulting with an employment law attorney, who can advise you of your legal rights in your specific circumstances and represent you if your employer takes action as a result of the criminal charges.

Talk With a Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer

Our criminal and DUI defense lawyers at The McCoy Law Firm, LLC, have decades of experience representing defendants facing all types of misdemeanor and felony criminal charges throughout northwest Georgia. If you are under investigation or are facing any criminal charge, please contact Criminal & DUI Law of Georgia, so we can begin working on your case right away.