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Would this be an automatic disqualification for an ADA job? Do they normally make you authorize a release of your medical records? I have never been convicted of any crimes. Medical records indicate that opiate maintenance therapy was legally recieved. I can find no information on this anywhere. Please, constructive advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

I am being considered for a state ADA internship right now and they told me that in order to get a security clearance that they will do a credit check, a background check, and I will have to speak with a background investigator. They said nothing about medical records, fwiw.

Edit: Do you have a criminal history involving the substance abuse? If so, I think that would matter but I don't know for sure and am just guessing.

The DOJ has an extensive FBI background check that asks if you've "used drugs in the last year" or "sold drugs in the last five years." As far as I know, it asks nothing about your medical records. I don't think it's going to disqualify you, but this is not the type of topic for which TLS has good answers.

Thanks, the problem is that I am not inclined to ask people around the law school or in the local legal community for obvious reasons.

Anonymous User wrote:Thanks, the problem is that I am not inclined to ask people around the law school or in the local legal community for obvious reasons.

Is it in your criminal history though?

Anonymous User wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Thanks, the problem is that I am not inclined to ask people around the law school or in the local legal community for obvious reasons.

Is it in your criminal history though?

OP said he was never convicted of any crimes, but the DOJ background check questionnaire also asks about nonconvictions within a certain timeframe. Having a charge or an arrest or whatever won't necessarily disqualify you. Their main concern in the background check is violent crimes, crimes of dishonesty, and crimes or past acts that tend to show disloyalty to the US.

I'd be a lot more worried about passing the bar than whether I can be an ADA. Every C&F questionnaire I've ever seen asks about addiction/substance abuse.

MrKappus wrote:I'd be a lot more worried about passing the bar than whether I can be an ADA. Every C&F questionnaire I've ever seen asks about addiction/substance abuse.

what kind of timeline is the bar asking about? i have an addiction in my past that i went to treatment for four years ago....have been sober 99% of the time since then and have a psychiatrist who can vouch for my reliability

will it take longer for me to pass the bar bc of this?

MrKappus wrote:I'd be a lot more worried about passing the bar than whether I can be an ADA. Every C&F questionnaire I've ever seen asks about addiction/substance abuse.

I'm the OP. I have no problem with the bar, I have investigated it in my state and they don't require a medical record release. To the person who asked about the bar, just look at your state's bar questionnaire on line if there is one. Also, there might be an attorney /judge completely-confidential hotline in your state where you can ask that question.

I have also never been arrested or had any run ins with the law.

Bronte wrote:The DOJ has an extensive FBI background check that asks if you've "used drugs in the last year" or "sold drugs in the last five years." As far as I know, it asks nothing about your medical records. I don't think it's going to disqualify you, but this is not the type of topic for which TLS has good answers.

The standard form for the DOJ/FBI background check doesn't have a "medical records" question, but they often use a supplemental form instead. Every background check I've gone through for the feds has required me to sign a release saying that they can contact my doctors/pull my medical records. To my knowledge they've never done so; I think it's mostly for people who check the little box on their forms saying that they've seen a psychiatrist or psychologist in the last 5-10 years. That said, I guess the government COULD go through my records if they wanted to.

To the OP: I think whether or not your medical records are viewed by the DA's office will depend heavily on what DA's office it is. I'd ask someone who works there or someone who's interned there what the background check process was. Asking that question ("what information will be required for a background") isn't disqualifying or even sketchy; most background checks require a lot of information that we don't all immediately have (where did you live 10 years ago and what's the contact info of someone who still lives there and isn't related to you who can verify it), so they understand that you might want to start collecting it all.

Anonymous User wrote:

MrKappus wrote:I'd be a lot more worried about passing the bar than whether I can be an ADA. Every C&F questionnaire I've ever seen asks about addiction/substance abuse.

what kind of timeline is the bar asking about? i have an addiction in my past that i went to treatment for four years ago....have been sober 99% of the time since then and have a psychiatrist who can vouch for my reliability

will it take longer for me to pass the bar bc of this?

A'nold wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:

MrKappus wrote:I'd be a lot more worried about passing the bar than whether I can be an ADA. Every C&F questionnaire I've ever seen asks about addiction/substance abuse.

what kind of timeline is the bar asking about? i have an addiction in my past that i went to treatment for four years ago....have been sober 99% of the time since then and have a psychiatrist who can vouch for my reliability

will it take longer for me to pass the bar bc of this?

99%? So you just dip back in now and then? How does that work?

ITT - Working for the government sucks.

Being sober 99% of the time means you can be stoned out of your mind about 2 hours per week.

c3pO4 wrote:ITT - Working for the government sucks.

Actually, I think the takeaway here is that addiction sucks.

edit: talk to a real lawyer

I can almost certainly tell you that "I've been sober 99% of the time since my treatment" will disqualify you from an ADA job if the office catches even a whiff of this.

Guys, just so you know, the guy who said he has been 99% sober since his treatment was not me. I am the OP. I have been 100% sober since my treatment.

Anonymous User wrote:Guys, just so you know, the guy who said he has been 99% sober since his treatment was not me. I am the OP. I have been 100% sober since my treatment.

Either way, the way people jumped on the 99% comment is judgmental and ignorant. It could well have meant that he had one relapse or something to that effect. Whenever these C&F issues comes up, the prudishness of TLS really comes out.

Bronte wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Guys, just so you know, the guy who said he has been 99% sober since his treatment was not me. I am the OP. I have been 100% sober since my treatment.

Either way, the way people jumped on the 99% comment is judgmental and ignorant. It could well have meant that he had one relapse or something to that effect. Whenever these C&F issues comes up, the prudishness of TLS really comes out.

I didn't see it as any type of prudishness. It was simply an informed response that if you have a history of drug relapse, that will disqualify you from these types of jobs, which is true. When there are plenty of applicants that have similar or far better qualifications, and no history of drug relapse, the choice for these employers is easy. Not to say that some don't slip through the cracks, but if this is found out before employment it most definitely will hurt your chances of employment.

Bronte wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Guys, just so you know, the guy who said he has been 99% sober since his treatment was not me. I am the OP. I have been 100% sober since my treatment.

Either way, the way people jumped on the 99% comment is judgmental and ignorant. It could well have meant that he had one relapse or something to that effect. Whenever these C&F issues comes up, the prudishness of TLS really comes out.

Not to be a jerk, but one reason C&F exists is to ensure that people who handle clients' wills, savings, and/or business K's aren't addicted to narcotics.

or alcoholics

Bronte wrote:

Anonymous User wrote:Guys, just so you know, the guy who said he has been 99% sober since his treatment was not me. I am the OP. I have been 100% sober since my treatment.

Either way, the way people jumped on the 99% comment is judgmental and ignorant. It could well have meant that he had one relapse or something to that effect. Whenever these C&F issues comes up, the prudishness of TLS really comes out.

I was just being goofy with the 1% = 2 hrs per week comment. Just think, you could stay clean for like 3-4 weeks and then go on a bender over the weekend with that 1%!

Bronte wrote:The DOJ has an extensive FBI background check that asks if you've "used drugs in the last year" or "sold drugs in the last five years." As far as I know, it asks nothing about your medical records. I don't think it's going to disqualify you, but this is not the type of topic for which TLS has good answers.

If it's the same background check that the military uses (also FBI, I believe), then dont worry. I have a Top Secret clearance with a whole bunch of fancy dancy caveats. (Im pretty much James Bond... except uglier, less game, and Im scared of heights). Everyone who I work with has similar clearances -- the James Bond reference does not apply to everyone equally, though. And a lot of them have done drugs and some have even been arrested for things like assault. Obviously that complicates and prolongs the process, but it passes through. The worst thing to have on your record is a shit ton of debt, and I dont mean something like LS debt. Im talking shit being repo'd.

Again, this is for the military. And it's also for Top Secret. I'd imagine that you wouldnt be getting TS, but my assumption is that if people whove done drugs and/or been arrested can get TS, then they would most assuredly get a Secret. It's really not that hard.