Will a Traffic Violation Show Up on My Background Check?

Speeding tickets and other traffic violations are nearly unavoidable. After all, driving includes juggling several tasks at once, and there is bound to be a time when you make a mistake. After receiving a traffic violation, you might worry that it could tarnish a background check and potentially affect a job prospect or other opportunities.

This uncertainty can cause significant stress and anxiety, leaving you feeling vulnerable and unsure about your future.

Understanding how traffic violations are reported and learning the steps to address them can provide peace of mind and ensure that a minor mistake doesn’t have long-term consequences.

Here’s what you should know about the impact a Virginia traffic violation could have on a background check.

Importance Of Background Checks in the Hiring Process

Most employers conduct background checks as part of the hiring process. A background check in Virginia provides the employer with a comprehensive view of a potential employee’s history, including criminal records, education verification, employment history, and, in some cases, driving records. Background checks offer several key benefits, including:

• Ensuring Workplace Safety: A background check in Virginia identifies violent behavior, substance abuse, criminal behavior, and other activities. Employers can mitigate risks to help protect employees.
• Verifying Qualifications and Experience: Background checks can help confirm the information provided by the potential employee, including educational credentials, past employment, certifications, and professional licenses.
• Protecting the Company’s Reputation: When a company hires someone with a questionable past, it could damage the company’s reputation.
• Legal Compliance: Conducting a background check on a potential employee is a legal requirement in some industries.
• Employee Turnover: Identifying candidates who are not a good fit prior to hiring them reduces employee turnover.
• Financial Protection: Background checks weed out applicants who have a history of employee fraud, embezzlement, or theft.

Traffic violations can still show up on a background check, especially if you are applying for a job that involves driving.

What Shows Up On A Virginia Background Check?

Depending on what the company needs, a pre-employment background check in Virginia could include:

• Criminal history, including arrest records, criminal convictions, sex offender records, and incarcerations
• Motor vehicle history from the Virginia DMV
• Credit history, including payment history, accounts in collections, and bankruptcies, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
• Civil court, circuit court, and district court records, including restraining orders, liens, lawsuits, and judgments
• Professional background, including positions held, employment verification, and employment dates
• Academic history, including schools attended, graduation dates, and degrees earned
• Illicit substance use or abuse, including abuse of prescription medications

Special Circumstances: CDL and Military Background Checks

When you apply for a job that requires driving or a CDL license, the background checks may be more thorough. Even civilian contractors for the military may request a more in-depth background check. Thus, any infraction can show up as it is all a matter of public record. Anyone can find this information on the Virginia court case information website, including registration violations.

When your job requires driving, your boss is going to care about even minor traffic infractions. Even if a minor traffic infraction is a couple of years old or older, it can impact your ability to get a job in the military or as a CDL driver. Drive-share companies, such as Uber and Lyft, also check your driving record more thoroughly because your passengers’ lives are in your hands.

Even if your violation was minor, it can have an impact on your job prospects. This is especially true for CDL drivers and military members. Trucking companies do not want increased rates on their insurance, and any record of traffic infractions could get you labeled as a liability and hurt your employment chances. For military members, promotions are highly competitive. Even a minor speeding ticket on your record could keep you from making rank when your competitors have clean records.

These old records cannot be expunged. You might be tempted to not contest and just pay the ticket because you might not plan on applying for a job that requires driving later in life. Those tickets you pay will still impact your ability to get that job.

A Local Virginia Traffic Lawyer Can Help

When you receive a ticket for a traffic infraction, contact a Virginia traffic lawyer to guide you through the process. In some cases, the traffic attorney can help minimize or even remove the charges from your record.

If you receive a conviction, you may still be able to work with a lawyer to mitigate the damage. In some circumstances, the attorney can file a motion to reopen the case. For example, if a client was convicted but did not realize the conviction was a criminal charge, we may be able to provide justification to the court that you were confused as to the severity of the charge and ask for a reduction so long as the motion to reopen is timely filed. In General District Court, we have 60 days.

Attempting to reduce the charges or get them dismissed is crucial for those who have driving jobs, who will apply for driving jobs sometime in the future, or who are in the military. These companies and organizations are reluctant to hire someone with anything on their record — not only for safety reasons but also to keep their insurance premiums low.

What is Considered a Traffic Violation in Virginia?

A criminal background check often includes searching the DMV for traffic violations. The Commonwealth of Virginia has several traffic violations that may be misdemeanors or felonies, including:

Felony Traffic Violations

A felony traffic violation could lead to a criminal conviction, prison time for at least one year, fines, and even license suspension. Examples of felony traffic violations include:

• Third-time DUI offense
• Involuntary manslaughter when caused by reckless driving
• Felony eluding
• Hit-and-run accidents that cause more than $1,000 in property damage
• Hit-and-run accidents that cause injury and/or death

Misdemeanor Traffic Violations

A misdemeanor traffic violation is not as severe as a felony traffic violation, but it could still impact hiring decisions for any future job prospects. Misdemeanor traffic violations can result in jail time of up to twelve months, fines, and license suspension. Examples of traffic misdemeanors include:

• First or second DUI
• Driving when your license is suspended
• Hit-and-run if it involves no injuries and less than $1,000 in property damage
• Counterfeit inspection sticker
• Driving without a license
• Driving without insurance

How Traffic Violations in Virginia Can Affect Your Employment Background Check

In Virginia, most traffic violations will show up on your background check. Employers run background checks for a variety of reasons. In some cases, they are purely looking for past criminal history. In other cases, an employer may also include your driving history, especially if the position includes driving as part of your potential responsibilities. If this is the case, they may look specifically for traffic violations. When companies are hiring for jobs that require driving, particularly CDL drivers, they will usually avoid hiring candidates with traffic violations on their record. They may interpret past traffic violations as proof of unreliability or unnecessary risk.

Additionally, a traffic ticket could end up in collections if you do not pay the corresponding fine. While this may not appear on most background checks, there may be specific careers where an employer or a career organization may look at financial records.

Why Reckless Driving in Virginia Can Complicate Your Criminal Background Check

Although reckless driving is a violation you receive for how you were driving, it is classified as a Class 1 misdemeanor, making it a criminal offense. This means that a reckless driving ticket will appear on a criminal background check since it is more than a simple traffic offense. It is important to take care when facing a reckless driving violation since it could impact your ability to pass a background check. You may need to talk to a skilled professional to determine how to handle a reckless driving ticket.

Legal Framework Governing Background Checks In Virginia

State Compliance and Regulations

The Code of Virginia includes background check laws. This state law includes definitions and specific laws for completing background checks for the education industry, including early childhood care and education.

The Virginia Code has several additional sections regarding background checks, including:

• § 19.2-392.02. Businesses and organizations for employees or volunteers who provide care to children, the elderly, or the disabled
• § 22.1-289.036. Background check for licensing applications, registration, or approval as a child day center, family day home, or family day system
• § 37.2-506.1. Direct care positions
• § 63.2-1721. Child placing agencies

Trust Randall & Bruch, PC for Traffic Violation Help in Virginia

Traffic violations can affect your present and future employment opportunities. Trust Randall & Bruch, PC, to help you with traffic violations so they have the least impact possible on a background check. We have experience in Virginia traffic laws and can help you develop a personalized legal strategy to suit your needs.

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Guidance and Real Solutions for Your Virginia Traffic Violation

If you are facing a traffic violation in Virginia, you could face potential consequences such as increased insurance rates, trouble obtaining a job or promotion that requires a background check, and more. It’s not just about the fine; it’s about the long-term consequences. Contact Randall & Bruch, PC, to help resolve your traffic violation issues and protect your future.