As a professional working in the financial sector, you have worked hard to establish trust and credibility with your clients. Not only do your clients hold you in high professional esteem, they also come to you for financial help and advice because of your impressive personal qualities. From always being available for a consultation session to consistently delivering on your promises, you have earned the trust and respect given by your clients.
Do not allow an arrest to tarnish your positive personal and professional images.
Having a law enforcement officer place you under arrest can be a highly traumatic event. The stress and anxiety triggered by an arrest can lead to some poor decisions that include not seeking immediate legal representation. If you are a financial professional who faces a criminal charge, you should speak with one of the highly-rated attorneys at Capetillo Law Firm.
Adam Capetillo fights hard for his clients and when it comes to your career being on the line, we will do whatever it legally takes to restore your well-deserved positive personal and professional reputations.
Consequences of an Arrest in Texas
Texas law grants employers the legal right to run criminal background checks on job applicants deemed worthy of moving through the hiring process. However, a criminal background check displays information about criminal convictions, not whether an applicant was arrested for an alleged crime. The issue comes down to one compelling question.
Should You Tell Your Employer About a Criminal Arrest?
In Texas, some jobs, such as positions that interact with children, require professionals to reveal a criminal arrest. What about a financial professional arrests that are already on his or her record? The answer is not clear that as a financial professional, you are not obligated to reveal a criminal arrest. Nonetheless, your credibility may take a huge hit if your employer, or any of your clients, find out about an arrest.
If law enforcement decides to drop charges of a crime, then the arrest may be expunged from your record. However, in this day and age, expunging a criminal arrest is may not guarantee that the arrest will be wiped from the internet. Thanks to the Internet, there is always the possibility of the news of your arrest getting back to your manager and/or your clients.
How to Get a Conviction Expunged in Texas
Let’s say you did not inform your employer or any of your clients abut a criminal arrest. Eventually, a court found you guilty of the criminal charge and now you have a conviction on your record. How do you expunge the conviction from your record?
If you have an arrest and/or a conviction on your record, you might be eligible for expungement of the charge under one of the following circumstances:
- You receive a pardon from the Governor of Texas
- A grand jury “no bills” your case
- You proceed to trial and receive a Not Guilty verdict
- The case is outright dismissed by the State
- It’s a Class C misdemeanor and you successfully completed deferred adjudication
According to Texas law, you must wait a certain amount of time before filing an expungement request. In some cases, the State may waive their statutory waiting period. Here are the waiting periods for different classifications of crimes:
- Felonies: Three years from the date of arrest
- Class A or B misdemeanor: One year from the date of the arrest
- Class C misdemeanor: 180 days after the arrest
Texas criminal statutes do not provide information that describes the waiting periods for pardons and acquittals. You should consult with criminal defense lawyer Adam Capetillo to determine the best course of legal action.
Federal Law and Financial Professional Arrests
How do federal laws influence whether financial professional arrests should report to his or her employer? Federal law does not prohibit an employer from conducting an investigation into your criminal history. However, federal EEO statutes forbid employers from discriminating against anyone that has a criminal history of any kind. As written into Title VII of the Civil rights Act of 1964, employers must not commit the following acts:
“Treat people with similar criminal records differently because of their race, national origin, or another Title VII-protected characteristic (which includes color, sex, and religion).”
“Use policies or practices that screen individuals based on criminal history information if they significantly disadvantage Title VII-protected individuals such as African Americans and Hispanics and they do not help the employer accurately decide if the person is likely to be a responsible, reliable, or safe employee.”
Contact Capetillo Law Firm
One small mistake can lead to a lifetime of career problems if you do not properly handle a criminal arrest. As a financial professional, many people that include your boss and your clients have put a tremendous amount of faith into your personal and professional integrity. Never allow an arrest to derail your financial career by contacting Texas criminal defense attorney Adam Capetillo.
You can reach us at (346) 249-5544 or submit the online Contact Form.
