#NYCIntern #DismissedFelonyCharge #IBInternship #BackgroundCheck #LegalAdvice
🌟Navigating a Potential Hurdle: Dismissed Felony Charge and Your NYC IB Internship🌟
So, you’ve landed a prestigious internship at a New York City investment bank – congratulations! However, you’re facing a bit of a dilemma due to a dismissed felony charge from years ago. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll address your concerns and provide valuable insights on how to handle this delicate situation.
**Understanding the Legal Landscape**
Before we delve into the specifics of your concerns, let’s take a closer look at the legal framework surrounding background checks and the rights of employees and interns in New York City.
– New York City Fair Chance Act: Familiarize yourself with the details of this legislation, which prohibits employers from inquiring about arrests that did not result in conviction. This law provides you with crucial protection in your current predicament.
**Impact on Summer Employment**
One of your primary concerns relates to the potential impact of your dismissed felony charge on your internship. Let’s address this point by considering the following aspects:
– **Employer Inquiries**: Despite the dismissal of the charges, you may be apprehensive about whether HR will bring up your arrest during the background check process. Rest assured, under the NYC Fair Chance Act, employers are prohibited from asking about non-convictions. Therefore, your offer should remain secure as long as you accurately disclosed any convictions on your application.
**Confidentiality Concerns**
The issue of confidentiality is paramount, especially in a competitive and fast-paced environment like investment banking. Here’s what you need to know about safeguarding your privacy:
– **Disclosure to Colleagues**: Understandably, you may worry about the potential disclosure of your past legal issues to your group supervisor or colleagues. However, HR is bound by confidentiality and should not disclose this information unless required for legitimate business reasons.
**Regulatory Implications**
Looking ahead, you’re understandably concerned about any potential implications your past legal issues may have on your future prospects with regulatory bodies. Let’s examine this in further detail:
– **FDIC/FINRA Concerns**: Given the industry you’re entering, it’s natural to wonder about the impact on your regulatory filings and licenses. We recommend seeking guidance from a legal professional with experience in banking and financial regulations.
**Seeking Legal Advice**
Lastly, it’s crucial to consider engaging the expertise of a legal professional who can navigate the complexities of your situation. Here’s a breakdown of the steps you should consider taking:
– **Consulting an Attorney**: Given the nuances of your case, it’s advisable to seek the counsel of a reputable attorney specializing in employment law and criminal defense. They can provide tailored guidance to protect your rights and ensure compliance with relevant regulations.
By addressing each of these key concerns with a methodical approach, you can navigate the potential hurdles associated with your dismissed felony charge and pave the way for a successful and fulfilling internship experience.
In conclusion, while the situation may seem daunting, remember that you have legal protections in place to safeguard your rights. By seeking appropriate legal counsel and understanding the relevant legislation, you can confidently pursue your internship without undue anxiety about your past legal issues. Here’s to a successful and rewarding experience as an incoming NYC IB intern! 🌟
Felony arrest FINRA isnt a disqualification for licensing since you were not convicted. But since its fraud related, you may want to let employer be aware so you can explain it on your own terms. Employers can have their own more stringent guidelines.
7 years ago? How old are you and what degree?
I’ve been on the HR side of a similar-ish situation. Here’s what happened with our intern. When he completed his background check, it didn’t clear, and I was notified as the recruiter that he didn’t clear. I wasn’t given any specifics by our onboarding team about why he didn’t clear, just that he didn’t. The intern was the one who told me that it was related to a fraud issue. We ended up having to rescind the offer because of the failed background check. If he had passed, I wouldn’t have known about it or been able to tell his manager about it. At a firm this size, the recruiters and hiring managers aren’t getting detailed info about background checks. We just get a report that says pass or fail.
Not a lawyer and not legal advice. Form U4 asks about whether you’ve been charged with any felony (for any reason) or any misdemeanor related to fraud. I believe, but not certain, that you can add additional details to the fact that you were not found guilty / stolen identity related / whatever you want. I don’t think this would be an issue for an internship but should be disclosed if asked for a background check or any other reason (ie definitely don’t lie about it). You will certainly need to disclose it on your U4 were you to enter the industry and get licensed. Again I have a hard time imagining this will cause you any issues in reality but may require that you explain it at various stages and or when you switch firms etc.
Look up the Fair Chance Act. New York law (so it applies here) that makes it illegal for them to ask you about criminal record at the application stage.
That being said, it may come up on background check, at which point you already have an offer. For them to pull that offer, they would have to specifically tell you that they’re pulling the offer because of your background check.
Imagine a company saying we’re going to pull an offer for an arrest where there was no conviction. Not going likely to happen.
My advice. Say nothing about it unless they ask you. Even then, say you were not convicted, that you never broke any law, and the arrest was not (in your opinion) not reasonable.
what was the charge
Why did you wait 7 years to address this? Consult a criminal lawyer ASAP.
I hope you also confirmed expungement isn’t an option via a lawyer.
Not currently a banker, but I’d ***strongly consider*** voluntarily disclosing it to HR after the offer was made assuming you haven’t outright lied during the process or on any of the paperwork.
Gambling it won’t be discovered is a bad bet. I’d rather get ahead of it, control the narrative, and trigger any legal protections you enjoy because the charge was dismissed. HR is generally responsive to the concept of getting sued for improperly handling a situation, especially if they’ve already put an offer on the table in writing.
Would absolutely dodge the hell out of this during the interview & screening process. Just too easy for someone to move you to the large pile to avoid the paperwork…
If you know it’s going to come up, I’d be tempted to disclose. Years ago a friend of mine had an offer at Bank of America rescinded because they found a pot charge (don’t remember if it was a conviction) and he hadn’t disclosed it. They told him (which could be BS) that they rescinded for not disclosing. They wouldn’t have rescinded it if he had disclosed, but felt they couldn’t trust him.
Your employment background check will not be an issue but this will be an issue if and when you go to get licensed. You’re correct in that arrest records do not disappear even when you’re not convicted. You need to review the questions on the U4 throughly because many of them ask about whether or not you’ve been *charged* not just if you’ve been convicted.
In my experience this isn’t a gating item but if you don’t disclose it then you’ll be in a tough spot because it will come up on the FINRA background check which goes deeper than a standard criminal background check for employment. Be aware, if you get licensed you will have to explain this and it will be publicly viewable on broker check. I believe there is a process for eventually removing these things but I would consult an attorney on that aspect.
Not a lawyer but speaking from personal experience. Look up your firm on brokercheck, if it’s a big bank plenty of people will have DUIs and whatnot listed. Fraud charges are more sensitive though.
As a manager I don’t even know why candidates fail background. I just get told I can’t hire them because they failed background. Most common reason I think is people fudge employment dates when they did not always have a valid work visa.
This one is tough because typically a conviction is what you need to dismiss someone automatically.
But working in a heavy regulated industry and you have a federal fraud arrest is big red flag
A lot of folks are inline for your role so there might be complications
This isn’t a simple dui or drug charge it was fraud
1. You weren’t convicted so this cannot impact you.
2. In general it won’t be disclosed. You will be fine, but in these cases if something did happen they just tell your group they could not move forward with you, that’s all.
3. Arrests don’t have any impact and you were not convicted of anything.
4. Really no need.
If you weren’t convicted you should be ok. I would make sure you get ahead of this though.
I’m not sure how FDIC really even applies here but as for FINRA you can look up the form U4 online, that is the form you will fill out when you register for FINRA. I believe it only asks about convictions but it’s been a long time since I last filled one out.
HR has specific guidelines, they shouldn’t* report something to your supervisor unless you’ve violated a specific guideline. That said, your best bet, if you’re concerned about it, is to address this with HR directly. Especially at a big bank HR is meant to act independently and as a resource for employees.
If you still don’t feel comfortable, try a criminal defense/expungement attorney, most will at least offer a free consultation. Just remember if they end up doing any work beyond that it will probably cost you several grand.
Take my comment with a large grain of unverified salt, but if they do manage to take a look at it, a fraud charge fraud in the financial industry is like the Achilles heel
Just keep that in mind…. now because you weren’t convicted I honestly don’t know how that will go but just keep in mind this isn’t like a felony drug charge or something like that. I wish you the best of luck.