A Single DUI Conviction May Result in Job Loss

Depending on how you are employed, even a single drunk driving conviction can result in termination. If you keep your job, then a DUI conviction might result in being passed over for a promotion. A drunk driving conviction might also result in future employers selecting other candidates for open positions, and again depending on the circumstances, might make you entirely ineligible for certain types of employment.

Employees with current or possible future access to company cars are particularly at risk, which is quite common in Michigan with all the auto-related jobs. Other jobs highly at risk are those occupations that place someone in a position of public trust, including, for example, health care professionals, accountants, financial advisors, and lawyers. Other jobs particularly susceptible to loss include those where, through the normal course of business, you have access to alcohol or drugs, such as jobs in the hospitality industry or industries like pharmaceutical sales. At the Barone Defense Firm, we examine any employment contracts you may have signed or any employee handbooks that may apply to your current situation.

However, it should be noted that an individual whose employment is terminated subsequent to a DUI conviction may want to consider legal action. For example, in the case of A.D.P. v. ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Co., 428 N.J. Super. 518, 54 A.3d 813 (N.J. Super.A.D., 2012), the plaintiff’s employment was terminated after she failed a breath test. More specifically, the defendant ExxonMobil required the plaintiff, who had been an employee for 29 years, to sign an alcohol abstinence agreement and submit to random breathalyzer tests as a condition of her continued employment. The court indicated that her termination was unlawful. Specifically, the court found that the evidence supported a conclusion that the plaintiff was subject to these requirements and fired when a breathalyzer test revealed alcohol use because she voluntarily disclosed she was an alcoholic and enrolled in an inpatient rehabilitation program. This admission triggered ExxonMobil’s Alcohol and Drug Use Policy (the Policy), which, although facially discriminatory, ExxonMobil defended as reasonable.

Some DUI offenders do suffer from substance abuse disorders and being terminated because of such disorder may be rendered unlawful in some instances. Nevertheless, when appropriate, lawyers at the Barone Defense Firm will advise you that employment termination is a possible collateral consequence of conviction. The best way for us to help you to avoid this and future protracted litigation is to properly and aggressively defend the DUI case with the goal, of course, to avoid the conviction altogether. Call today to learn more.