Human Resource Blog

Reported D.U.I. 6 days shy of a year ago!

	Termination
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I have been working almost a year after reporting to my employer that I had recieved a D.U.I. charge. I had reported the charge the following day after recieving that charge. He made a decision at that time to work out the problem so that I could continue to be employed there. Then can I be terminated 6 days shy of a year afterwards and have proof from paycheck stubs that the company was in a slow period and also layed off+fired other individuals? Then how is this any justification not to recieve unemployment benefits soley upon an excuse for my former employer to not pay into unemployment in my case? It seems as though it is self-serving and hypocritical for this to affect my job status through no choice of mine!

You mention that the employer was informed of the charge a year ago, shortly after the employee was arrested.

Many states and federal laws prohibit an employer from discriminating against a worker who is arrested, but not convicted. The thought process is that the employee is innocent until proven guilty.

 

So in most cases an employer couldn’t terminate an employee who was arrested for DUI (Driving Under the Influence.) But, if the employee was found guilty, then the employer could terminate him. It’s possible that’s what happened in this case.

If the employer wasn’t informed of the conviction right away, the employer would be justified in firing the worker whenever the employer learned of the conviction.

If the employer knew of the conviction long before terminating the employee, then the employer might simply be trying to avoid the charge for unemployment benefits.

The employee would be within his rights to appeal the unemployment decision, if he can show that the employer knew of the conviction long before the termination. In some states, that will make a difference. In others, it will not.

If the employee loses the unemployment appeal, he might just have to chalk this up to another risk that he took, when he decided to drink and drive. DUIs are a choice, and that choice does affect job status.

As always, the state the worker is in makes a big difference. In Wisconsin, for example, anti-discrimination laws prevent employers from discriminating against employees who have a felony conviction.