Would you hire someone with a criminal conviction?

[Anonymous]

Interviewing now and one candidate who we like told us she had a DUI 7 years ago. Apparently she was in a serious accident, hence the criminal record. Of course DH asked about current use and she said no, but it makes me nervous that she could be driving the kids and drinking because it didn't sound like a one time thing (ie: went out on New Years and had too much or something). Of course the rational part of me realizes this could be true for *anyone* and in this situation we only know about it because she told us, which I give her a lot of credit for up front. On one hand I don't want to hold a past mistake against someone but on the other I want to make sure my children are safe and this definitely gives me pause. Part of the dilemma is that we do like her and we have met 3 or 4 candidates all of whom are fine but I haven't really felt wowed by anyone. I think maybe it's because we're looking mid-year and my previous experience was that it seemed easier to find someone during the summer when school was out, people are moving, and long-term nannies are looking for new jobs. Thoughts DCUM?

[Anonymous]

I would maybe dig a little more. Make sure nothing else since then. 7 years is a long time and it sounds like she learned her lesson. A lot of people drink and get behind the wheel hoping they hadn't had too much. I think you could hire her if get references are good.

[Anonymous]

How did it come up? Did she proactively disclose it? I would want to find out from her what she did to address it when the incident happened and what she does now to prevent something like that from happening again.

[Anonymous]

Make sure you run a background check and driving record.

Our current nanny has a "super speeder" ticket that will be on her record as long as a DUI, and it has significantly increased the cost of insuring her to drive our vehicle.

It was worth it to us for a variety of reasons, but I'm glad we knew about it when we hired her, and had verified that there were no other major problems on her record.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would maybe dig a little more. Make sure nothing else since then. 7 years is a long time and it sounds like she learned her lesson. A lot of people drink and get behind the wheel hoping they hadn't had too much. I think you could hire her if get references are good.

What a horrible invasion of privacy. She chose to tell you what she was comfortable sharing, any other parts of her past are none of your business. If you can't trust her without invading her privacy then just tell her she's not hired. MYOB!

[Anonymous]

I was in this exact same position last year and went ahead and hired her, thinking - it totally could have been me in college or something. Well, it blew up in my face. She ended up being a serious alcoholic, stole all of our alcohol and drove our child hungover (probably drunk). I was so so so horrified once I found all of this out.. It's not worth the risk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would maybe dig a little more. Make sure nothing else since then. 7 years is a long time and it sounds like she learned her lesson. A lot of people drink and get behind the wheel hoping they hadn't had too much. I think you could hire her if get references are good.

What a horrible invasion of privacy. She chose to tell you what she was comfortable sharing, any other parts of her past are none of your business. If you can't trust her without invading her privacy then just tell her she's not hired. MYOB!

How is it an invasion of privacy to check references and dig deeper with a driving record and criminal background check? These are typical tools parents should use. My advice was to maybe dig deeper like make sure to use a very good company for a background check and not just the one care.com uses.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, no. I would not hire anyone with a DUI on their record as my nanny. For other jobs I wouldn't care but for someone who will be driving my children? No, no way.

[Anonymous]

A DUI is an indication that the person drink and I would never hire anyone who drinks alcohol because one bad choice leads to another. Same reason I wouldn't hire anyone with tattoos or anything like that either. My 2 cents, stay away from this nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A DUI is an indication that the person drink and I would never hire anyone who drinks alcohol because one bad choice leads to another. Same reason I wouldn't hire anyone with tattoos or anything like that either. My 2 cents, stay away from this nanny.

Troll, troll, troll. And one with terrible grammar at that. YOU stay away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would maybe dig a little more. Make sure nothing else since then. 7 years is a long time and it sounds like she learned her lesson. A lot of people drink and get behind the wheel hoping they hadn't had too much. I think you could hire her if get references are good.

What a horrible invasion of privacy. She chose to tell you what she was comfortable sharing, any other parts of her past are none of your business. If you can't trust her without invading her privacy then just tell her she's not hired. MYOB!

That is patently absurd. If the nanny will be driving the children then her driving record is of utmost relevance to the job.

[Anonymous]

No- not worth the risk. Too many qualified candidates with clean records. It's hard and time consuming, but keep looking until you find the right person. and do a full background check

[Anonymous]

OP, the truth is you will never know who you are hiring. No matter how many references you check, background check etc. Just because someone does not have DUI doesnt mean she doesnt drink, right? Im a nanny and still go out on the weekends and drink. Does that mean i cannot be a good nanny because i drink? So stupid.

[Anonymous]

The neighbor's of my MB/DB hired a nanny for their two little ones who was the picture of what an ideal nanny would be.
She was the top of her class, had an advanced degree, volunteered, was cute, bubbly and sweet.
She also had a perfect record, both criminal and driving.
She ended up being a secret alcoholic who drive drunk with the children in the car. You never really know who someone is.
If she is disclosing this to you without prompting, chances are that she recognises that this was risky behavior, regrets it and is taking or has taken steps to change.
What seems perfect often isn't. What seems damaged often isnt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The neighbor's of my MB/DB hired a nanny for their two little ones who was the picture of what an ideal nanny would be.
She was the top of her class, had an advanced degree, volunteered, was cute, bubbly and sweet.
She also had a perfect record, both criminal and driving.
She ended up being a secret alcoholic who drive drunk with the children in the car. You never really know who someone is.
If she is disclosing this to you without prompting, chances are that she recognises that this was risky behavior, regrets it and is taking or has taken steps to change.
What seems perfect often isn't. What seems damaged often isnt.

I agree with this. Her voluntary disclosure would be reassuring to me.

All other things being really positive about her I would probably give her a chance.