Can My Employer Be Notified Of My DUI? (2025)

Will My Employer Be Notified of My DUI?

Generally speaking, law enforcement agencies don’t directly notify your employer if you’re arrested. However, the fact that your employer isn’t directly notified doesn’t mean they won’t find out on their own.

How Do Employers Find Out About DUIs?

There are a number of different ways your employer might find out about your DUI:

Through Background Checks

Most employers will conduct a background check before they hire you. Some will continue to run background checks periodically after you’re hired, but not all do. If your employer runs periodic checks, they might find out about your DUI arrest or conviction.

Through an Employer Notification System (ENS)

If you’re arrested for a DUI, your license is immediately suspended. Companies that employ drivers may opt to use an employer notification system (ENS) to monitor the status of their employees’ driver’s licenses. The system sends real-time alerts to employers if an employee’s license is suspended or revoked.

The system may not specify that your license was suspended as a result of a DUI. However, it’s not difficult for an employer to do some digging and find the reason for the suspension.

Through Media Coverage

Not all DUIs appear in the media. If your DUI was a lower-level offense that did not involve a crash, property damage or any kind of personal injury, it likely won’t be written up in the paper or shared on local news stations’ social media pages.

However, if your DUI caused an accident, you may be mentioned in the media. If you are, your employer may find out about your DUI without trying to.

Through Office Gossip

Your direct supervisor may not see your DUI mentioned on the news, but that doesn’t mean your coworkers won’t. If one person hears about the arrest and tells someone else, it may quickly spread through the company.

Should I Tell My Employer About a DUI?

You might understandably want to avoid informing your employer of your DUI unless you absolutely must disclose the arrest. There are several instances where you will likely need to tell your employer about a DUI:

• If you’re in a profession that requires disclosure
• If your company policy requires you to disclose new criminal charges
• If honesty is generally expected at the company

If you’re a licensed professional, your state licensing board may require you to report an arrest for DUI. Similarly, employers in certain industries may require immediate disclosure. If you serve in any of these roles, you might be required to tell your employer, the licensing board or both:

• Doctor, nurse or other medical professional
• Teacher
• Pharmacist
• Pilot
• Government employee
• Truck driver (or other CDL holder)
• Rideshare or delivery driver

A DUI is never a good thing for your career, but the actions you take can determine how much of an impact it has on your life. For instance, if your job requires you to disclose an arrest, you might be tempted to not say anything and hope your employer doesn’t find out.

However, if your employer later finds out that you didn’t report your arrest, it will look much worse than it could have. Some employers may not fire you for a DUI, but if you attempt to hide an arrest, you will likely be fired for deception.

Your decision to disclose — or not disclose — can have significant consequences for your career. If you aren’t sure whether you should tell your employer about your DUI, you should ask your attorney for advice on how to proceed.

Will My Employer Care About a DUI?

That depends on your industry, the general culture at your company and whether your job requires driving. If you’re a commercial driver, your employer will certainly care — if you get a DUI, your commercial driver’s license (CDL) will be suspended for a year. If you get a second DUI, you won’t be able to get a CDL for the rest of your life.

Even if your job doesn’t involve driving, your employer may still care about a DUI. If your job involves significant responsibility, your employer may think the arrest reflects poorly on you. The more serious the charges, the more likely your job is to care — an aggravated DUI will generally have farther-reaching effects than a less severe offense.

Finding an Attorney Is the Next Best Step

No matter how much you might wish you could, you can’t go back in time and undo your DUI. All you can do is take the next best step — finding an experienced DUI lawyer to represent you.

Your choice of attorney may mean the difference between a conviction and an acquittal, and it may well be one of the most important decisions you make in your life.

But how do you start? With ConsumerShield, you don’t have to make this decision alone. We connect people with experienced attorneys who suit their needs. Fill out our form below to get started with a free consultation!