A Guide to Job Applications and Background Checks in Oklahoma

“Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” For decades, this question was a near-universal feature of U.S. job applications. In addition to background checks, Oklahoma employers often used this question to screen applicants. They let a criminal past affect their hiring choices, rather than relying on the applicant’s knowledge, skill, and experience.

Those with a conviction on their record already face difficulties finding housing, getting loans, and gaining access to certain types of licenses. Limiting job opportunities only adds more challenges. If you have a previous conviction, it’s important to know that an expungement could remove it from Oklahoma criminal background checks and allow you to say it never happened in a job interview.

Federal Job Application Laws

There is no federal law prohibiting employers from asking applicants about their criminal history. But this type of question is becoming more legally complex because it can prevent certain protected groups from being hired, which is discriminatory.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) states, "as a best practice, and consistent with applicable laws, the Commission recommends that employers not ask about convictions on job applications, and that, if and when they make such inquiries, the inquiries be limited to convictions for which exclusion would be job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity."

Additionally, the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 (FCA) prohibits federal agencies and private companies that hold federal contracts from asking employees about criminal history prior to making a conditional offer of employment. Yet many employers can and do still ask about criminal history—not only convictions—on job applications.

Oklahoma’s Job Application Laws

Oklahoma is one state that is implementing criminal justice reforms to combat the negative impact of a criminal record. Our state recognizes that asking about convictions on job applications—as well as running employment background checks in Oklahoma—limits opportunities for offenders, which often prevents them from successfully re-entering society. This begins a cycle of recidivism-which is when people circle back into the corrections system time and again.

One in three Americans has a criminal record, and without intervention, over two-thirds of people released from prison will be arrested again in three years. Some 60,000 people in Oklahoma are shadowed by past felony criminal records for simple drug possession, which voters have determined should now be charged as a misdemeanor. Stats like these are what started the state’s “Ban the Box” movement.

Oklahoma’s “Ban the Box” Movement

Critics of asking about criminal history on job applications argue that offenders seeking employment should have a fair shot to prove themselves beyond the initial application. Yet because they’re often immediately denied, they don’t get a chance to explain themselves during the interview process. It’s true that the conviction would still surface during a standard background check (unless you expunge your record before a job application, which we’ll cover later). Still, the idea is to give offenders a chance to explain themselves rather than simply writing them off.

“Ban the box” policies give job applicants a fair chance at employment by removing criminal history questions and delaying background checks until later in the hiring process. Hawaii was the first state to pass ban the box policies in 1998 and since then, 26 other states and Washington D.C. have enacted ban the box policies.

Many leading employers in the United States have also taken steps not to immediately ask applicants about criminal histories, including Walmart, Facebook, Starbucks, and Target. The idea gained significant steam during the 2008 economic recession, when many Americans found themselves newly unemployed for the first time in years or even decades and hamstrung by past mistakes.

In 2016, former Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed an executive order requiring state agencies to “ban the box,” effectively eliminating questions about convictions from employment applications. The order does not prevent prospective employees from being asked about felony convictions during the interview process or prevent criminal background checks, and it only applies to state agencies, so if you apply to a private employer, you may still find this question.

Oklahoma’s Background Check Laws

While ban the box laws prevent state agencies from asking about criminal history on job applications, background checks are a separate part of the process. In Oklahoma, criminal background checks are still legal for all employers. Employers typically run them toward the end of the interview process, when you’ve reached the final stages.

In addition to background checks, employers are allowed to require applicants to take drug tests and medical exams, as long as the employer pays for it. They are not allowed to ask to see your social media accounts, and they are not allowed to ask about expunged records.

What Will Show Up on an Employment Background Check?

Most employers will request criminal history, employment history, and education history as part of a background check. If they request an Oklahoma criminal background check, it will show your arrest record and convictions for both misdemeanors and felonies.

For criminal convictions, employers will also be able to see the court records for each case. Your court records include specific information like the:

• Charge
• Filing date
• Disposition (the outcome)
• Disposition date (the date the case was closed)
• Sentence

A full expungement can remove your records from the state’s databases, including the arrest record, court records, and prison records. Expungement applies to most misdemeanors, as long as you meet a few other requirements.

Expunge Your Record Before a Job Application

Per Okla. Stat. §22-19, employers cannot ask applicants about expunged or sealed records. You are entirely within your rights if you refuse to disclose a sealed or expunged record when applying for a job, and cannot be denied employment on that basis. That’s why getting an expungement is well worth the effort: It can open the door to more employment opportunities and protect your privacy.

In Oklahoma, full expungement is available for misdemeanors and many non-violent felonies. It’s important to know that if you have a nonviolent drug offense on your record, you might be eligible for expungement even if it was a felony: In May 2019, state policymakers passed HB 1269, which made certain drug and property crimes less severe. The legislature also passed bills expanding the ability of former offenders to obtain certain occupational licenses and expunge nonviolent felony criminal records. Tens of thousands of people in Oklahoma are now eligible for expungement.

If you pursue an expungement, you will legally be able to say they were never convicted of a crime on job applications (as well as housing, school, bank, and similar applications). You’ll need to wait a certain amount of time, depending on the severity of the crime, and meet certain other requirements. Take our free quiz to see if you’re eligible.

The Bottom Line

Some organizations can still see expunged records, but employers aren’t one of them. In Oklahoma, expungement means an applicant does not have to disclose the expunged record to a potential employer. Until questions about arrests and criminal record are universally removed from the job applications, expungement remains the most effective way to ensure that your past mistakes don’t affect your job prospects. Contact the Tulsa Expungement Guy today to get started.