Drivers who get pulled over for drunk driving in Wisconsin face numerous possible consequences. People might have to spend months on probation or even serve a jail sentence. They will likely need to pay fines and face the suspension of their driver’s license.
All of those penalties can be frustrating and expensive, but they pale in comparison to the possible consequences of a conviction or guilty plea on your career and financial circumstances. How could an impaired driving charge affect your profession and your income?
You could lose your professional license
If you drive for a living, your commercial driver’s license is at risk even if you were in your own vehicle for the impaired driving arrest. Even if driving isn’t part of your job, your professional license could be in danger.
Whether you are an appraiser, a pipelayer, a master electrician or a dental hygienist, you need a state license to do your work. Wisconsin regulates numerous professions, especially those involving medical care and construction. Depending on the policies of the board overseeing your profession, a criminal conviction of any sort might trigger a disciplinary hearing and put you at risk of losing your license.
You may not be able to get to work reliably
The temporary suspension of your license can be a real hardship if you don’t live somewhere with good public transportation or have people willing to provide on-demand transportation. If you have to carpool or use rideshare services, you may rack up numerous absences and late arrivals.
Your employer could write you up or fire you because of your transportation issues. Even if they don’t, they may start to question the reliability and they pass you over for promotions and raises.
Your employer may have a zero-tolerance policy
Many companies have zero-tolerance policies for commercial convictions while you work for them. If your employer does a background check and finds the conviction on your record or if you notify them of it because you will miss work for court, they might terminate you or stop considering you for promotions because you have violated company policy by violating the law.
Fighting back against impaired driving charges can be a better solution than pleading guilty for professionals worried about how a conviction could affect their career trajectory.
