[seandhi]

> I no longer have to legally disclose it

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that this is not a "luxury" that we enjoy in the U.S. Once you have a conviction, it is there forever. So much for doing your time and paying your debt to society. I really hope I am wrong about this, but I fear that I am not.

[onetimeonly]

It's worth noting that in the UK, convictions become 'spent' (so that you don't have to disclose them when asked) after a certain period of time that varies with the severity of the original sentence. But for some crimes (>48 months in prison) they never become spent. And for some jobs, the 'spent' status does not apply. Those include working with children, joining the police or security services, and a variety of other things.

[jtheory]

I hired someone in the UK who was obligated by law to divulge a crime that she has committed more than a decade before, because she would be interacting with my children.

It was grueling for her to discuss it -- she was trembling and wringing her hands, and it was suddenly obvious why she had been strangely nervous during the entire first part of the interview -- and difficult for us to sit and hear it; not because her crime was awful (her punishment did not involve jail time) but because she was clearly being put through the wringer.

Honestly, it was a factor in us choosing to hire her; otherwise she was fairly even with the other candidates we interviewed, but we were impressed that she was going into a line of work that would require her to make this same confession to strangers many, many more times in the future.

It felt really wrong, regardless. Especially after that experience, I think there should be an expiry date for mistakes like hers.

[auctiontheory]

Even in the US, convictions can be expunged or sealed. The requirements vary by jurisdiction. (I think it's especially common for young offenders.)

[nanidin]

When something is expunged or sealed, is it required that that non-government entities purge the records also?

For instance, it's common for local news companies to report arrests & mugshots on their websites. I'm assuming there are similar aggregators for arrests and convictions that span larger areas than a single news company, and these are the same people that service background checks.

What obligation(if any) do they have to respect the fact that a conviction has been expunged or sealed by the courts?

[seandhi]

Doing a little research, it appears that you may be right, but, as you say, the requirements vary by jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions will allow you to expunge misdemeanor convictions but not felony convictions.

[aclevernickname]

If you settle and close your matter civilly (even if it is a criminal matter), you do not have to disclose. Vince Neil of Motley Crue does not have an obligation to disclose his vehicular manslaughter conviction for this reason. There are other examples, but Vince's is the easiest to google.