| Could an OVI conviction
cost you your job? That depends on the job. If you are a pilot or have a security
clearance the answer may be different than if your boss has a help wanted sign in the
window and you take the bus to work. A number of factors may come into play. For example,
what will your employer think aobut customers seeing a yellow and red license plate in the
employee’s parking lot?
Can employers see my conviction on the internet? Yes is
often the answer to this question. Employer’s are becoming more cautious about hiring
people for good positions. The figure that the more careful they are in checking a person
before hiring, the fewer problems they will have later. If the choice is between you and
another equally qualified person but the employer sees you have an OVI conviction, the
other person may get the job. Rightly or wrongly, the employer may thing that there could
be problems with alcohol interfering with you doing the job properly. If you are an
employer, why take the chance? You may never know what an OVI cost you in lost employment
opportunities.
What should I do? The answer is different for different
people. The one thing you should do is make very sure you know the employment consequences
of pleading guilty to OVI before you do this. It must again be stressed that it is very
hard to reverse convictions after they happen. The best time to deal with the problem is
before your case comes to trial.
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Could an OVI keep me from
getting a good job or a pay raise? From time to time, I will get a call from a
person who has been convicted of drunk driving in the past? The person indicates that they
have an excellent opportunity to move into a new employment position and that all they
need to do is to get rid of the past conviction. The person often is willing to pay
whatever it takes at this point. Unfortunately, such people often have to be told to save
their money. It is very difficult to reverse past convictions once the case is over and
the appeal time has run. The time to avoid this situation is before the conviction occurs.
Pleading guilty quickly to get the case over with, may cause problems later on.
What if my job involves driving? If part of your job
involves driving you should be concerned. If your job is driving, you have a serious
problem driving with limited driving privileges. Even if your employer wants to keep you,
if your employer’s insurance company doesn’t like the looks of your record, they
may raise the rates on your employer or refuse to insure you while working for the
employer. Even if you are well liked, your employer may not be able to keep someone they
cannot insure.
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