MVR records

#1 09-19-2006, 10:50 AM

I have a job interview on Thursday, and have prepared for it. However, I was wondering if anyone knows the rules for an employer obtaining an MVR/driving record...are they allowed to do that? I have a non-moving violation on my record (no seat belt reduced to non-moving, inspection was out of date), and a parking ticket from a couple years ago that I took a while to pay off (like 8 months). I also was issued a ticket for riding the subway without paying a fare when I was younger (this was in 2000) that I paid...does that appear on a driver record?

I am fine in terms of a credit check, but I just wanted to get a gist of what they are looking for when they do a driving record search.

Is anybody else bothered that they can look into this stuff?

WorkInProgress · #2 09-19-2006, 10:52 AM

No idea. Did you already search online for that info?

#3 09-19-2006, 10:54 AM

Yeah I also called the town court for where the ticketing occured and they say it stays on your record forever...but I couldn't ask if employers could request it because I am sitting here at work and don't want to let them know that I am interviewing on Thurs...

I am just not sure what employers have access to...a 3 year record or lifetime...

Also does anyone know the range of credit scores that will kill you on an application? I have rebuilt my credit to an acceptable level, but if an employer looks into my past they will find a delinquency from 2001 that I paid off - $500.

cache · #4 09-19-2006, 11:00 AM

MV Records are public records. Anyone can look at anything, anytime. If it is on your record, they can see it.

The question is whether or not they want to. Most places will look at those things and not care...it is the serious things they are looking for.

#5 09-19-2006, 11:04 AM

Well here's what I worry about:

many times DWIs get reduced to non-moving violations. I also have a non-moving violation (seat belt, inspection). What if an employer looks at my driver record, sees the non-moving (this is what I was told by my lawyer - aka my dad - that it would be listed as), and thinks "Oh this guy must have gotten a DWI".

CTGirl · #6 09-19-2006, 11:06 AM

We do a lot of background checking for some of our clients, and yeah, we often come across that kind of thing, but our clients rarely care about those minimal things, unless you have a lot of them, which would suggest a trend in your behavior.

For example, we had one guy who had a lot of minor speeding/aggressive driving things, which, I told my client, may suggest some sort of anger issues, but I believe he was hired regardless.

rocket333d · #7 09-19-2006, 11:10 AM

What about credit, though? That scares the ever-living crap out of me. People see a bad credit score and think the person's irresponsible, but what if they just fell on hard times and had a rough time paying their bills? A low credit score doesn't mean someone's a spendthrift.

And I mean, how is someone supposed to improve their credit score if they can't get a job? Scary...

cache · #8 09-19-2006, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonestar

Well here's what I worry about:

many times DWIs get reduced to non-moving violations. I also have a non-moving violation (seat belt, inspection). What if an employer looks at my driver record, sees the non-moving (this is what I was told by my lawyer - aka my dad - that it would be listed as), and thinks "Oh this guy must have gotten a DWI".

I've seen that before, but usually the DWI is reduced to something that still needs explaining. Like a reckless driving charge.

Also, I know it is too late for the current potential employer, but if it concerns you, why not have your MV record expunged/sealed(whatever is available in TX...if anything)?

#9 09-19-2006, 11:15 AM

I can do that? Also these offenses were in New York State...the tickets I got in the a town municipality and the subway violation was a city issued ticket (I am not worried about that - it was a $20 ticket and I am not even sure it gets reported).

Maybe when I changed my lisence to Texas these violations did not follow me?

cache · #10 09-19-2006, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonestar

I can do that? Also these offenses were in New York State...the tickets I got in the a town municipality and the subway violation was a city issued ticket (I am not worried about that - it was a $20 ticket and I am not even sure it gets reported).

Maybe when I changed my lisence to Texas these violations did not follow me?

Absolutely not. Records stay in the state that they were issued...like Texas cares what you did in NY. It would just be more records administration. However, when an employer asks for previous addresses for the last X years(typically 5-7), that is why. So they can check out records in other places. Once you get beyond that period, there is nothing to worry about, unless 1. you return to NY or 2. there is a national driver license program created someday.

Interestingly, my car insurance company found out about a speeding ticket I got in Wyoming when I was driving through. How in the hell did they know to check WY driving records?

CTGirl · #11 09-19-2006, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cache

Absolutely not. Records stay in the state that they were issued...like Texas cares what you did in NY. It would just be more records administration. However, when an employer asks for previous addresses for the last X years(typically 5-7), that is why. So they can check out records in other places. Once you get beyond that period, there is nothing to worry about, unless 1. you return to NY or 2. there is a national driver license program created someday.

Interestingly, my car insurance company found out about a speeding ticket I got in Wyoming when I was driving through. How in the hell did they know to check WY driving records?

We often do full national background checks on people who have lived in other states, so we would find something like that, regardless of what state it was in.

wordsmith · #12 09-19-2006, 12:19 PM

I have a police scanner at my desk at work, and anybody the local law enforcement pulls over, they check a nationwide database for to see if they have any violations/citations/suspensions/warrants/etc. in other states. I don't know if it's entirely accurate to assume that what happens x state stays in x state. Why would it?

HIKU · #13 09-19-2006, 01:13 PM

MVR are counted diffrently in each and every state. And to the statement of "MVR ARE PRUBLIC RECORD" it is NOT... you must pay for it, and usually you need the consent of the individual or the individual must get it. MVR usually does not hold non-moving violation on your record, unless you didn't pay for it at all.

shimma · #14 09-19-2006, 01:18 PM

Lonestar - if any of those violations cost you a job (esp given that the worst are the better part of a decade old) than that employer sucks and would have been toxic to work for anyway.

cache · #15 09-19-2006, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HIKU

MVR are counted diffrently in each and every state. And to the statement of "MVR ARE PRUBLIC RECORD" it is NOT... you must pay for it, and usually you need the consent of the individual or the individual must get it.

I beg to differ with this statement. Just because you have to pay for them, doesn't make them non-public records. I can walk into any California DMV office and request Arnold Schwarznegger's or Oprah's DMV records. Because of Public Records Laws, I bet most every state is the exact same way...