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13 months & 4 assignments-now they send the dreaded legal questions.

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Artemus

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I'm working temp for a Robert Half office. I'm getting ready to leave for my 4th engagement in a couple of days. 3 of the 4 engagements were mucked up though some sort of incompetence or other, but--at 66--it isn't easy to find work at all.

The issue: My PTSD was caused by a car accident (no serious injury) followed by my pleading guilty to a felony over it, that was followed by losing a 30 year career and facing multiple times of almost being homeless on Medicaid after having a six figure income. My 401(k) was bled dry. I was unemployable. Life in shambles. That was 10 years ago. The prosecutor who charged me was later disbarred for "Defiling the Public Trust" because what he created was by no means unique. After that, the charge I pled guilty to (under the duress of MMS) was dismissed.

I now live in IL. It's illegal here to ask the "have you ever" question on an employment application. It can only be asked at the end of interviews before hire. I'm supposed to leave for this 4th assignment in another day. It's 3 hours drive away for 2 months. I don't even know if this is legal after having worked over 1,000 hours for this company during the past year. I don't know what to do.

I've lived with this issue for a decade now. No one cares about criminal politicians, or dismissed charges. You say Yes to that question and it's over.

Thoughts, ideas, helpful comments welcome.
 
It sounds like you really need to ask a lawyer. I am not familiar with work conditions in your state and maybe it may be a good idea to find out what or if you have any rights in this matter. I would try to find some kind of guidelines to fine the best answer to the question, being honest sometimes can work against a person so I think your caution is wise. I am sorry this has gone on for so long and that it is such a source of grief for you. I wish you good luck, who knows it could happen.
 
Since the charges have been dismissed have you looked into having your record expunged? If you can get that done then your record is cleared and you can legally say no to that question.
 
Since the charges have been dismissed have you looked into having your record expunged? If you can get...

Since the charges have been dismissed have you looked into having your record expunged? If you can get...

Arizona is proudly one of the most punitive states in the U.S. They don't expunge anything. If you're arrested at 18 and never charged with a crime, you have a public record of that arrest until you die. They will "seal" records, such as an arrest and other felonies, but not felonies classed as dangerous (mine wasn't but a request to seal after the charge was dismissed was denied). In Arizona they say that "set-aside = dismissed=expunged." The rest of the world does not agree of course, but then Arizona is also on Mountain Time. They turn their noses up at DST and the rest of the nation in general. It's sort of the culture of that state as I discovered the hard way.

On a better note, RH is not the tower of competence either, so it all worked out. The forms they sent me to complete and return (that triggered the ptsd) violated federal and state law in a number of areas--and had VOID stamped across every page. Not too helpful for them I suspect. When I pointed this out, they dropped the subject. The forms asked, for example, to know all my prescription medications to take a drug test. Taking a drug test is fine (lab can only respond with a pass/fail, not the details). HIPPA forbids employers to ask about medical history or prescriptions beyond asking if you are disabled and require any special accommodation. In Illinois it has been illegal to ask the felony question on an application since 2015. And there were other foibles too, so the VOID oddly enough was the only thing correct about those forms.

The whole thing is a dark joke. A blind person giving directions to a deaf person as the saying goes, although the metaphor is very fitting in this case. Thank you for the idea, it is appreciated.
 
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