Virginia & Washington DC False Criminal Record Report Lawyer
Employers spend billions of dollars each year to look into the backgrounds of prospective employees to ensure that they aren’t ready to hire a thief, violent criminal, or worse. Although most people assume that criminal background checks are generally accurate, unfortunately, mistakes are common. Mix-ups can happen when information is mistakenly entered into the log of a law enforcement agency or court file, made worse by private companies that compile (and sometimes misinterpret or fail to update) this public information and are unmotivated to fix it.
While some employers will still consider a candidate when a background check reveals a criminal history), most will simply tell job seekers that the reason they weren’t hired was criminal information revealed by their background check. In some instances, applicants aren’t even given a reason for being passed over and are left to figure out why they weren’t hired, despite the fact that they were highly qualified for the job.
Why Do Mistakes in Criminal Background Reports Happen?
Despite the fact that mistakes in a person’s criminal background check can lead to devastating consequences, the reasons they happen is often quite simple. The person might have a common name or even share a birthday with someone that has a legitimate criminal history, which makes disputing the accuracy of a background check even more challenging. Data entry errors can also lead to inaccurate criminal reports, particularly when charges were later reduced or dismissed entirely. Many companies make the assumption that if the applicant plead to a lesser charge, they were guilty of the initial crime, an unfair but very common practice.
Due to a general lack of federal oversight over private companies, little is done to protect the average consumer from these errors and false assumptions. However, if your potential employer hired a company to perform your background check and a mistake was made, Blankingship & Christiano P.C. is ready to hold that company responsible for any errors that cost you a job.
You Have the Right to Push Back Against False Criminal Record Reports
If you were denied a job, suffered damage to your reputation, or experienced other negative repercussions due to a false criminal record, don’t give up. If a company that specializes in criminal background checks and investigations makes a mistake on your record and refuses to correct it, you have legal recourse. Contact the Virginia & Washington DC false criminal record lawyers at Blankingship & Christiano P.C. online or call 571-313-0412 and take action to set your record straight today.
