You Cannot Get the Job — You Have a Criminal Record From When You Were a Minor
An employer refuses to hire someone based on a criminal record for an offence committed while the person was under 18, without knowing the record is legally expunged or expungeable.
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The Situation
What They Said
“Our background check shows you have a criminal record. We cannot hire someone with a criminal record. Your application is unsuccessful.”
A young adult applies for employment and is rejected after a background check reveals a criminal record from an offence committed when they were under 18. The employer does not know — and the applicant often does not know — that the law provides for the automatic expungement of many juvenile criminal records after a set period. The record that appeared on the check may legally no longer exist.
The Fallacy
Treating a Legally Non-Existent Record as a Permanent Fact
The employer assumes that a record that appears on a database is a current and valid legal fact. This is false in two ways. First, the law provides for the expungement of many juvenile records after a defined period — once expunged, the record is legally deemed to have never existed. Second, even where expungement has not yet been formally processed, the law creates an entitlement to expungement that the individual can and should exercise. Using an expunged or expungeable juvenile record to deny employment is treating a legal non-fact as a fact.
What the Law Says
Your Legal Foundation
Ley de Contrato de Trabajo 20.744
art. 245 de la Ley de Contrato de Trabajo — Unfair dismissal protection
“In cases of dismissal by the employer without just cause, whether or not prior notice has been given and after the probationary period has elapsed, the employer must pay the worker compensation equivalent to one (1) month's salary for each year of service or fraction greater than three (3) months, based on the best monthly, normal and habitual remuneration earned during the last year or during the period of service if shorter.”
The applicant was not hired, not dismissed, so this article on severance pay does not apply. The rejection is based on a criminal record, which is not addressed in this law.
What Scripture Says
God's Word on This
Isaiah 43:18–19 (NET)
“Do not remember the former events, nor consider the things of long ago. I am about to do something new. Now it springs forth — do you not perceive it?”
Scripture speaks of a God who does not allow past failures to permanently define a person's future. The law reflects this principle in legal terms: the acts of a child should not be permitted to follow them into adulthood when the law has established a path to a fresh start.
Psalm 103:12 (NET)
“As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us.”
The law's provision for expunging juvenile records mirrors the theological concept of removal and restoration. Once expungement has occurred, the law treats the record as non-existent — as removed — not merely as forgiven but still counted.
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You Know the Law — But Do You Know What to Say?
Reading your rights is one thing. Using them under pressure — calmly, correctly, in the right words — is what actually protects you. Members get the scripted rebuttal for this exact situation: what to say first, what to say if they push back, the tone to use, and the constitutional provision to cite. Practise out loud with audio until it's automatic.