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Will I lose my job after getting a DUI?

On Behalf of | Jun 27, 2019 | Firm News

In today’s world, your job could be in jeopardy with a DUI conviction. If you are a contract employee, government employee or a commercial driver, your job could be more at risk.

Job challenges with a DUI

Many employers have contract employees who are working at-will, meaning that at any time an employer can end the contract except for discriminating against your sexual orientation, race or union membership. Getting a DUI conviction certainly can mean that contract ends.

For instance, a teacher working on a yearly contract gets a DUI. How would that look to a school district deciding to renew that contract?

Also, with a DUI conviction, the court can order suspension of your driver’s license for months, which also often makes getting to work more difficult. And if you end up with a felony conviction for DUI (usually having multiple DUI offenses), many employers have policies allowing them to fire employees with felonies.

If you do lose your job, getting another one will be more difficult. These days, employers require background checks. Any criminal conviction will show up on that—unless you’ve had your DUI conviction removed from your record. Many government jobs require you to report even if you’ve had a past DUI arrest, even if you weren’t convicted.

Lower BAC threshold for truckers, professional drivers

California law has a lower blood alcohol content (BAC) DUI threshold for commercial vehicle drivers: .4 percent. The same .4 percent threshold applies to drivers for hire—so if you’re any of the following, you also can’t have a .4 BAC with passengers in your car:

  • a taxi driver
  • a chauffeur
  • a limo driver
  • an Uber or Lyft driver

If you drive for a living and are facing a DUI charge, contact an experienced criminal attorney. You don’t want a DUI to affect the rest of your life.