Boss Told Me To Lie On My Application

[Candie]

I worked for a company after having a DUI that was close to home so I could get to work. I worked for the company for about 3 yrs. I am not sure whether I put it down on the application the first time I worked there regarding the DUI. I am diabetic and had low blood sugars and had the ambulance come many times. Finally I got fired for a bogus reason, when it was really because of my diabetes. I am now on the insulin pump and doing good.
I would still go to the store that I worked at and would talk to the manager about what happened. He needed an experienced employee and begged me to come back. While filling out the application he told me to put NO to the question if I had "ever" pleaded no contest or was guilty of a felony or misdeameanor other than a minor traffic offense. He said he needed someone ASAP and didn't want to have to wait to get the okay from the higher ups before I got the job.
Now I have been back for 10 months and my new manager wants me to become assistant manager. My background check came back with the DUI and they want to terminate me because I didn't put it on the application. I have always been up front about it and told my district manager and my new manager about it from day one. Both the manager and the idistrict manager want me to fight it and call Human Resources this morning at 8AM and tell them what happened. I am supposed to be taken off the schedule and am now off the schedule today until I can hopefully clear it up. I am thinking about saying that the DUI was from my low blood sugar reaction and I didn't blow for the test, because I have known people who have had to send in their medical records to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles for yrs. after getting in an accident. PLEASE HELP ME KEEP MY JOB. Candie

[Mr. Knowitall]

Lying about the circumstances of your plea seems to dig you in deeper, without doing anything about the fact that you were convicted.

Will your boss back you up, by stating perhaps that you told him about it and he misunderstood what you were saying and told you that it was a minor traffic offense?

This is in what state?

[Candie]

Thanks for replying. I am in Florida. The original boss is no longer with the company and I think that HR may be able to still contact him although he moved. Could I subpoena him? Would I have any kind of case? Both my district manager and my manager knew about it when they asked me to become assistant. I don't know if my blood sugar was low or not when I got the DUI, but I had drank also, but not enough to get a DUI. Maybe I should have blown.
I just wonder since it is a right to work state if they can use their own discretion to let me keep my job, and what I can do to increase my chances of keeping it?
Thanks.

[Candie]

Mr. Knowitall,
From your idea about stating that my boss misunderstood what I said about the DUI, it will not fly because everyone knows that a DUI is not a minor traffic offense, and it is still a misdeameanor which they wanted to know about in the application also.

[Mr. Knowitall]

Right. But if you want to keep this job it would help if you had something more to take to HR than an unsupported claim that, although you knew you were lying, your prospective boss told you to lie. If I were HR and I heard that, I would terminate you for lying and investigate your claim about your boss.

[Candie]

I told them I would take a lie detector test, and I know that corporate may still have his number to ask him. It is now up to the Regional Vice President to decide. I want to meet with him somehow so that I am not just a number. I asked if there were any situations where the employee was able to keep their job after lying on the application, and this was not a typical situation. He told me it was black and white and not normally do they keep their job.
The thing of it is is that it is for a convenience store chain that has 1600 stores all over the southeast. They are doing good having me, it is very hard to find good people to work for a convenience store with robberies and the hours. We just now have a full crew. I have two degrees on the dean's and honor roll and am a paralegal, but can't commute right now, and there is no paralegal work in my town that offers insurance with the one man show attorney's offices here. Have you heard of anyone keeping their job under similar circumstances?
Thanks for your input again, it is appreciated.

[deadlock]

I told them I would take a lie detector test, and I know that corporate may still have his number to ask him. It is now up to the Regional Vice President to decide. I want to meet with him somehow so that I am not just a number. I asked if there were any situations where the employee was able to keep their job after lying on the application, and this was not a typical situation. He told me it was black and white and not normally do they keep their job.
The thing of it is is that it is for a convenience store chain that has 1600 stores all over the southeast. They are doing good having me, it is very hard to find good people to work for a convenience store with robberies and the hours. We just now have a full crew. I have two degrees on the dean's and honor roll and am a paralegal, but can't commute right now, and there is no paralegal work in my town that offers insurance with the one man show attorney's offices here. Have you heard of anyone keeping their job under similar circumstances?
Thanks for your input again, it is appreciated.

Just to make sure I understand, did you say you worked for this company and you were fired? The DUI was already on your driving record when you were hired but you didn't put it on the application? or did you?

You said you were fired for a bogus reason. Do you think the bogus reason might have been the application if you did not admit to a DUI?

If you lie on an application, your employer can fire you at any time if/when the lie is discovered.

You lied twice about this DUI. You lied the first time. You lied the second time and are now trying to blame your lying on your boss.

I suggest you do damage control and ask that your record with the company reflect your resignation instead of termination. You won't be eligible for unemployment benefits anyway.

BTW- employers are often looking for truth rather than misdemeanor charges. When you are trusted to handle day to day cash flow, they need to know that you are honest. You lie about a DUI on your application. You don't drive for the company. It's about your application, not the dui.

[Candie]

Deadlock,
You should not judge people, and I did not lie on the first application because everyone knew about it and it was common knowledge that I had a DUI. I think 4 yrs. for the company speaks for itself. You accuse me of lying and blaming it on someone else. I would take a lie detector test in a heartbeat.

By the way yourself, I just got a phone call and was told to come in to work today and that the Regional District Manager was impressed that I took the time to call and the Regional Vice President told him that whatever he decides is okay with him. I set a precedence since I am probably the only one ever gotten this exception.
And also, I would indeed get unemployment for your information, because I would have put the x-boss into the telephone hearing for the unemployment. I would never have resigned, that is admitting guilt as far as I am concerned. NO the bogus reason was not for lying on the application it was because of my diabetes and they could not find anything else to fire me for. But I am not even going to tell you because you will tear me apart as you have already done.
From now on you need to keep your accusations to yourself. Your advice was DEAD wrong.

[Mr. Knowitall]

One of the developments in labor law in recent years is the application of misconduct discovered after a wrongful termination to prevent an award of damages. As in, "Sure, we fired her because of her diabetes, but she lied on her employment application." When the law allows this defense, the application is often the first place the employer looks when hit with a lawsuit.

[GreatGadsby]

and Florida is NOT a "right to work" state.