Failure to admit having a criminal conviction results in removal from state job
An arbitrator held that the State acted properly when it removed an employee form his position upon discovery that he had failed to report his earlier conviction on the application form for his job.
The employee had indicated that he had never been convicted when in fact he had been convicted of a number of crimes.
The Civil Service Law (Section 50.4) provides for the removal of an employee found to have falsified his application form. In such cases the law requires that the employee be given an opportunity to explain the matter before being removed from the position.
It appears that the reason for the employee’s removal was the falsification of the information on the application form, not the fact that he had earlier been convicted.
Generally the employee or applicant having a criminal conviction in his record may not be barred from employment unless the offense is found to be job related and has a potential for a breech of faith or a related problem.
For example, conviction for illegal possession of a drug might be a basis for disqualifying a person seeking a position in a pharmacy where controlled substances and drugs are typically available for dispensing but probably would not be relevant in connection with a clerical position in an office.