https://www.simecurkovic.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/CriminalRecordBackgroundCheckAddendum.pdf
A company can still hire you if you have a criminal record, it is their choice. Similarly, they can still hire you if you fail a drug test (most will not however). If they ask if you have a criminal record, then you have to be honest with them. If you lie, then they will find out and they will not hire you. That would be a falsification of records which might be more of an issue than the actual crime committed. Just be honest and open about it if asked. I have had several students in the past with criminal records. They have prospered and flourished because they learned from their mistakes and never gave up. They had a longer and tougher road, but they overcame it. We live in a country where you can overcome anything if you are not lazy and you do not blame others. No one is perfect and we all deserve second chances (if we learn from our mistakes). Thank you. Sime
Note: Employers may also continue to drug test for marijuana, and if they choose to do so, employers can refuse to hire, can discipline, or can discharge a person who tests positive for marijuana, otherwise violates a workplace drug policy, or comes to work under the influence of marijuana.
One cautionary note – employers should exercise caution before terminating, disciplining, or refusing to hire someone for their use of medical marijuana.
Note, you should assume every single company will require a drug test for both internships and full-time jobs. You should also assume if you have consumed THC rather recently, you will fail a drug test. FYI, cannabis is still illegal under federal law. When a company requires a urine test they can actually go back several weeks. When a company takes a hair sample they could actually go back years if they paid enough money. There is a very simple solution to all of this if you are seeking professional employment and you know what that solution is. It hurts the brand of our program enormously when students fail drug tests. Furthermore, these students do it knowing they will fail (right?, it is usually never an accident?). The ISM program has built up a Top 10 World Class brand that all of you will benefit from. We all also have a responsibility to not only protect that brand, but also build it up. Please take this email in the right spirit. The faculty care about all of you deeply and we want you to prosper and flourish.
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Greetings Sime,
While searching for an email I came across this video that might be helpful in the event someone may need it.
It’s from an attorney out of Detroit but it is very informative and outlines who is eligible for expungement; a “how to,” if you will. At 8:30 the video gets into the “meat” of the eligibility.
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMxZ4Vic0Uf2RDKXcSsF9Rg
Please don’t hesitate to continue referring people to me. I am more than willing to share my story and offer any advice I can; I just thought this would be valuable for you all.
Also, please note that there are guidelines that must be met in the State of Michigan; here is the link:
Michigan criminal record expungement bills head to Whitmer’s desk
Briefly, here are the questions that need to be answered so that you don’t have to view the site in its entirety.
Do you have a federal conviction?
Do you have a criminal conviction in another state?
Do you have more than one adult criminal conviction in Michigan, excluding those for which judgment of guilt was deferred and excluding up to two minor offenses as defined in MCL 780.621(10)(b)?
Were you convicted of a felony or an attempt to commit a felony for which the maximum punishment is life imprisonment?
Were you convicted of felony criminal sexual conduct (first, second, or third degree), or assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct?
Is the conviction you want to have set aside a traffic offense? A traffic offense is a conviction for violating the Michigan Vehicle Code or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to that act, which violation involves the operation of a vehicle.
Has it been less than five years since the date of your conviction, or if you were imprisoned, has it been less than five years since you were released?
Sincerely,
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More tid bits:
Manage Your Reputation
• Social Media – Manage your digital reputation
• Facebook, Linkedin, published resume
• PARTY with caution
• Employers perform drug testing, criminal checks, driving records
• Marijuana in hair follicles for 6-9 months!
• Do you have traffic violations, MIP, or felony?
• Don’t lose the internship you worked so hard to get!
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Lastly,
Up to 1 million Michigan residents may be eligible for ‘clean slate’ criminal expungements
Updated Apr 13, 2021; Posted Apr 13, 2021
By Gus Burns | fburns@mlive.com
Michigan’s “Clean Slate” laws that make it easier for convicted criminals to erase past felonies from public records took effect Sunday, April 11.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel during an online informational session Monday said several hundred thousand to a million Michigan residents may be eligible under the new expungement rules and will “no longer have to deal with the stigma and barriers posed by having a criminal conviction on their public record.”
Most violent crimes, criminal sexual conduct and alcohol-related driving offenses are not eligible for expungement, other than certain low-level assaults. The state Legislature is considering expanding expungement laws to make first-offense drunken driving convictions eligible.
Components of the law that call for automatic expungement of nonviolent misdemeanors after seven years and felonies after 10 years — if the resident has no additional convictions — won’t take effect until late 2022 at the earliest, and possibly not until 2023, Nessel said.
Under previous law, Michigan residents with up to two misdemeanors or one felony conviction for certain crimes were eligible to ask a judge to clear their record if they haven’t committed other offenses for five years or more.
The changes made by Clean Slate legislation include:
- The implementation of an automatic process for scrubbing certain misdemeanors after seven years and certain felonies – not including those involving assault – after 10 years. Automatic expungement isn’t likely to be implemented until late 2022 or early 2023.
- The law expands eligibility to up to three felony convictions and an unlimited number of misdemeanors; however, no more than two assaultive convictions can be expunged. Multiple convictions for the same crime, if they have a maximum penalty of more than 10 years in prison, are also ineligible.
- The added ability to combine multiple felonies or misdemeanor offenses arising from the same transaction as a single felony or misdemeanor conviction, as long as the offenses happened within 24 hours of one another and are not crimes involving assault, possession or use of a dangerous weapon, or an offense that requires more than 10 years in prison.
- The expansion of expungement eligibility for lesser traffic offenses, not including operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
- The added ability for a person to request that a judge expunge one or more marijuana offenses if the violation occurred after Michigan legalized recreational use in December 2018.
The waiting period prior to applying for expungement begins at the completion of a person’s sentence, probation or parole and if someone applies and is denied expungement, they must wait three years to reapply.
“Expungements can be and will still be a complicated legal process,” said Shannon Lucas, a director of legal services with the nonprofit Michigan Advocacy Group that is compiling pro bono attorney services and tool kits that the public may access to start the expungement process.
Nessel said her office is eager to assist the public with the process and applicants don’t need to hire an attorney.
“My office is also working to plan a series of expungement fairs once it’s safe for people to gather in person,” Nessel said.
It remains unclear if conviction-related travel restrictions, including to Canada, or gun rights will be restored with a successful expungement, since the agencies authorizing those activities access separate criminal databases.
“I believe this is a historic day in Michigan because this is the day that reality comes to bear that Michigan is a leader in the country” regarding expungement, said Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II. “Our administration new we had to take a new approach to criminal justice to reduce people’s contact with that system in the first place … and ultimately to prepare people for a chance at success after their contact was finished.”
Research conducted by the University of Michigan law school, recently published by the Harvard Law Review, found that people who receive expungements see a 23% increase in income within a year.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the package of expungement bills with bipartisan support in October 2020.
Some available expungement resources include:
- AG’s Office information and a checklist for filing with an additional checklist specifically focused on marijuana convictions.
- Michigan courts information page with application forms
- Michigan Legal Help expungement tool kit and information hotline to arrange free legal assistance, 888-783-8190.
- Michigan Advocacy Program pro bono legal services
- Safe and Just Michigan FAQs
- Communities seeking to host an online expungement event with Safe and Just Michigan may email info@safeandjustMichigan.org or call 517-482-7753.
Thank you. Sime
Dr. Sime (Sheema) Curkovic, Ph.D., Professor, Operations/Supply Chain
Western Michigan University, Haworth College of Business
E-Mail: sime.curkovic@wmich.edu