How Long Can Employers Find Out About Old Misdemeanor Convictions
My question involves a background check in the State of: Arkansas
I have two simple misdemeanor pot possession convictions from the late 1970s in the State of Arkansas, where I live today. When I am asked on an employment application if I have ever been convicted of a crime (not specifically a felony), do I have to divulge these? I have never sought to have these expunged. Is it possible, or is it likely that a routine background check will find these convictions? (the arrests and convictions occurred in two separate rural counties; I live in one of the most populous counties of the state.)
Re: How Long Can Employers Find Out About Old Misdemeanor Convictions
A misdemeanor conviction is a criminal conviction, so the honest answer to "Have you ever been convicted of a crime" would be "yes".
I'm not going to promise you what a background check will or will not find; it will depend upon the nature and extent of the background check.
Your state's expungement laws are not the clearest I've ever read, but if these were both misdemeanors it appears that you can petition for expungement. Read this.