If you are convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), this criminal conviction can impact many aspects of your life. It may even affect your career or put an end to your career. The impact of a DUI on your ability to keep working within your chosen career field is going to depend upon different factors, including the severity of the accusations against you and the specifics of the criminal charges. It is best to work with an experienced license defense lawyer as soon as possible following an arrest so you can find out how different kinds of convictions could impact your professional life. If you’ve already been convicted of DUI, you also need to take swift action to get a lawyer who can help if regulatory authorities are threatening action.
For people who have a commercial license to drive and who operate a truck or other vehicle for a living, a DUI can devastate your career prospects. You could lose your commercial license either temporarily or permanently and could become a big potential liability that no one wants to hire. Your career could be over, especially with repeated DUI convictions.
There are also many people who have special licenses in a wide variety of other professions outside of trucking and commercial driving. This can include people with medical licenses, law licenses and other licenses to provide skilled services. If you have a license to do these types of professional jobs that require licensure, you could have a lot at stake if a DUI results in the loss of the license that is a prerequisite for working in your field.
The reality is that a conviction for drunk driving is taken seriously by professional licensing disciplinary boards, and there can be consequences when it comes to maintaining a license if you are arrested for DUI. Some of the possible consequences can include fines, probation, a suspension of your license, mandatory drug testing, and the loss of your license. This loss would mean that all of your hard work in earning an education and building a career would be wasted since you could no longer do your job.
When you are convicted of impaired driving, the Medical Board or other professional board for your chosen career field is going to conduct an investigation. The board may look at disciplinary actions taken against you; whether you have any prior criminal history or have a repeated pattern of DUI; how long you have been working in your profession; what efforts if any you have made at rehabilitation; whether you have made restitution; the possibility of financial hardship; and the actual damages caused by the drunk driving incident.
You need to make certain you are ready to deal with the disciplinary proceedings that are initiated so you can do your best to keep your license and your ability to work within your field.
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