Obtaining a job to make some decent money can be pretty difficult when you have been convicted of a DUI. This is why many DUI convicts resort to jobs where they do not need to be hired necessarily but rather just sign up for the service. However, Grubhub and other food delivery apps will not let just anyone drive for their service. A DUI conviction may actually prevent you from being able to make money through Grubhub.
Background Checks
In the latest year of reporting, the Business of Apps and their Food Delivery App Report found that Grubhub had over 65,000 drivers delivering food and earning money for it. Despite the fact that Grubhub had this many people working for them, not everyone is allowed to sign up and become a driver. There is a formal process, albeit more relaxed than most other companies, to get hired and start earning cash which includes running a background check.
The background check that they run is a fairly standard one. It is through a third-party site called Checkr. It usually takes around 3 to 10 days to be completed and have results delivered. It will comb through 3 different kinds of activity on your criminal record. These include:
- Overall criminal charges – violent offenses, sex offenses, theft offenses, and other serious felony charges will disqualify you
- Driving violations – three misdemeanor charges or one felony charge in the past three years will disqualify you
- Alcohol or drug-related charges – any violation (especially if it deals with operating a vehicle) in the past seven years will disqualify you
They run these background checks because they want to not only deliver food to people’s doorsteps but deliver quality service whilst doing so. Grubhub is not going to want to take a risk by hiring a driver who has gotten into serious legal trouble for drinking while driving. Therefore, the likelihood of you being able to deliver food for Grubhub and make some extra cash is incredibly low.
Few Exceptions
While the chances of a DUI convict being able to drive for Grubhub are low, they are not impossible. There are certain ways around being disqualified during the background check process. You could possibly become a Grubhub driver if your DUI conviction was more than seven years ago.
Plus, if it was only a misdemeanor charge and if there were no other major charges alongside it, then you could be hired through the company’s discretion. In certain locations, they have the option for people to sign up as bikers rather than drivers. This would pertain to big cities like New York or Chicago.
You could possibly curtail Grubhub’s policies on people having alcohol and driving violations by agreeing to only walk or bike to deliver food. This is still not a guarantee because it is still up to the discretion of Grubhub, and they still might not want to hire someone who has a criminal record.
Could Grubhub Drug Test You?
Most employers will drug test their new hires before their first day on the job. So it would make sense to assume that Grubhub would drug-test drivers before they hit the road. However, there is no formal drug testing process for people signing up on Grubhub’s app to drive and deliver food for money.
Also, they will not randomly drug test throughout your time working with them, as there is no official policy on their site about that.
Still, you should try and refrain from drug use if you get approved to drive for Grubhub. This means that there is one less hurdle to jump over to become employed by Grubhub. Yet, a criminal background check will still have to be run, which is important to remember.
How Other Food Delivery Apps Compare
Even if you fail to get approved to drive for Grubhub, you could try and drive for other food delivery apps. However, all major food delivery services have similar rules and regulations concerning driver applications.
Uber Eats, Doordash, and Postmates all run criminal background checks, and they even use the same third-party company as Grubhub; Checkr. This means that they will investigate any driving violations in the past three years and any alcohol and drug-related violations in the past seven years.
Getting a DUI Expunged
The best way to obtain a job when you have a DUI conviction is to have the DUI removed from your criminal altogether. While not every state allows for this, California does indeed allow expungements of convictions. This means that a judge can decide that your DUI will no longer appear on your criminal background.
Employers running background checks will not be able to see that you have a prior alcohol and driving-related conviction against you. An experienced Los Angeles DUI Lawyer can help you get that DUI expunged from your criminal record. California Penal Code 1203.4 details the process of getting convictions expunged from your criminal record.
Our criminal defense lawyers could argue that since you have complied with all the requirements of your probation, then you should deserve a chance at expungement. Do not expect to have your DUI expunged if you have, in fact, violated the terms of your probation. We could also argue that since you have no other convictions and are not facing any other criminal charges, then a judge should grant you expungement.
A Lawyer Can Help
Most likely, you will not have your DUI scrubbed clean from your record if you are, in fact, facing other criminal charges. But, considering hiring a Los Angeles DUI attorney would be wise since expungements lead to better job opportunities for convicts. According to an empirical study on the expungement of criminal convictions from the University of Michigan Law School, convicts who experienced an expungement on their criminal record saw an increase of 22% in their wages and their employment trajectories.
Contact a Los Angeles DUI Attorney Today
Making a terrible mistake by getting behind the wheel after drinking should not ruin the rest of your life. You should still be able to work for a living and make decent money. We can help expunge any DUI convictions that are holding you back from obtaining a job at Grubhub or any other place of employment.
Get in touch with a Los Angeles DUI attorney today and receive a free and confidential consultation.
