Anyone with experience disclosing an arrest to employer?

communication
#1

One of my sons just started a professional job and had to disclose that he has been arrested. It’s unresolved and was a felony drug arrest when he was at a college party last fall where there were illegal drugs. It’s his only time to get in trouble like this, and he seems to have been clean ever since. We are concerned about the effect this will have on his employment- he had already gotten and received the offer, and started work, when he filled out the application and it asked for this information. He’s still working but this is his first week. The work may involve going on campus to schools in the future.

#3

My daughter has had great success with being upfront and telling future employers about her felony drug charges they seem to appreciate her honesty and has got several good jobs over the year it takes guts and it didn’t hurt that she can be charming

#2

We haven’t had to tackle this one yet, but my husband delayed getting professional help and to rehab for way longer than necessary due to fear of what to say to his employer. Going to rehab ended up being the catalyst to quit his job, at the time, that had been contributing immensely to the pressure he was putting on himself and the addictive habits he was using to get through it all.

We found it super helpful to become incredibly open about the journey the whole family went through with addiction during his recovery, it felt like taking the shackles off and normalizing the situation as we began to talk about it so openly and freely.

It has however, been a major challenge in his and my return to work. How do we talk about it openly when we know others can’t help but hold stigmatized views of what an ‘addict’ is. We’ve instinctually stopped talking about it openly any more. And I know this is hurting him, and me and the progress of everyone facing addiction.

I know this isn’t an answer to your question exactly, but I wanted to let you know that you’re definitely not alone in this and I look forward to others chiming in on the topic.

#4

I agree addiction is not easy to talk about and people have many misconceptions and false judgments about it. You have to be cautious and find trusted people who are informed about it. That’s one reason it is helpful for me to attend Refuge Recovery meetings (a Buddhist-inspired alternative to 12-step) where people understand and it’s a safe space to talk. I think finding safe people to talk to (not just online) is very important for recovery.