does job abandonment go on your record

Does job abandonment go on your record? Dozens of questions can plague individuals when looking for a new job…

Unfortunately, the answer to these questions is both yes and no.

With job abandonment, whether it goes on the record depends on many circumstances. But knowing when job abandonment can be seen by potential new employers is a huge benefit.

The first step is to run a background check on yourself to find out if your core record includes job abandonment.

After that, there are a number of factors to consider.

This guide outlines when job abandonment might show up on an employment background check, and what can be done about it.

Related Reading: What shows up on a background check for employment?

What Does Abandoning Your Job Mean?

Abandoning your job can mean several different things, especially depending on the nature of the job in question. In general abandoning one’s job refers to when an individual essentially quits their job without telling their employer.

This can be done in a few ways. In more extreme cases this can mean simply walking off the job in the middle of a shift and never coming back.

Most often, people who abandon their jobs simply stop showing up for their scheduled shifts.

Abandoning a job may sound serious, especially with the two weeks notice is a fairly standard practice in the United States.

Although it may cause problems for the employer if an employee fails to show up to work without warning management, there is nothing illegal about abandoning your job in most cases.

Why Should I Give 2-Weeks Notice?

Notifying your employer that you will not be continuing your employment is seen as a courtesy to the employer, so that they have ample time to make other arrangements to cover shifts and any other duties that would normally fall to the individual.

Most employers will not be happy with an employee possibly leaving them in a difficult situation by not notifying them of their departure, however, at the end of the day, there is little the employer can do in the way of punishment.

The employer is still required to provide compensation for the hours worked regardless of the circumstances in which someone left.

Can I Legally Abandon My Job?

There is one exception to the legality of abandoning your job. Although it is exceedingly rare, some jobs will require a notice of departure as part of the employment contract.

In this case, there may be financial penalties for the employee if they simply abandon their job. However, this is most common with very high-paying, executive-level jobs.

It is important to keep in mind that some jobs will also consider not showing up for a single shift as abandonment as well.

These days many employers have specific policies regarding job abandonment and the punishments that come with abandoning a shift or doing a “no call, no show” as it is often called.

Individuals should familiarize themselves with their specific employers absentee policy as well as any policies regarding providing notice of departure.

It is not illegal to abandon your job, both federal and state laws, such as those in Colorado allow for individuals to leave at any time. Still, that doesn’t mean there won’t be other kinds of consequences. 

These consequences are tied into the question of “Does job abandonment go on your record?” 

How Does Job Abandonment Affect You? (What Are The Consequences Of Job Abandonment?)

The biggest concern with abandoning a job is how it will impact future employment.

Although the previous employer can do little to punish an individual who abandoned their job, it can make it difficult to find new employment. An employee abandoning their job without warning will almost always have a negative effect on the business, and destroy any potential reference from the employer.

Depending on the industry and the job that was being performed these negative effects can range from minor to near catastrophic.

For example, certain office jobs will still likely be able to function fairly normally if an employee suddenly stops showing up. On the other hand jobs in the restaurant industry often staff as minimal as possible so losing an employee suddenly can cause major problems for the shifts they are supposed to work.

Related Reading: What’s included on a Home Depot background check? What’s on a Walmart background check?

The same is true for jobs in construction as well, especially if the job that was abandoned required certain certifications or training in order to perform them, if there is no one else to fill in there is the possibility that the business will have to come to a screeching halt because one person failed to show up without telling anyone.

If a potential employer finds out that an individual abandoned the last job they worked, it would be a major cause for concern and many employers will simply not take the risk of hiring an employer that could potentially abandon their employer at any moment.

Does Job Abandonment Show Up On A Background Check?

The big question most people have after they have abandoned their job is: Does job abandonment go on your record? The answer is somewhat complicated, but in general, it can show up on a record. 

Unlike a criminal record or any other potential legal issues that an individual has been involved with, there is no searchable database for employment. So, it will not show up as part of a typical background check.

Related Reading: How to find out where someone works

The only way an employer will even be aware of where an applicant has worked is if this applicant decides to disclose this information on their application or as part of the interview process. Although a potential employer may ask applicants to list all of their previous work experience, there is no legal requirement that this information is disclosed by the applicant.

In most cases, it is in the employee’s best interest to disclose all of their previous work experience to a new employer, or at the very least the work experience that is relevant to the job being applied for. As with anything that an individual chooses to put on their application, it is extremely likely that the employer will ask about previous work experience. This is where job abandonment may come into play.

Moreover, there are ways that an employer can check previous work history, by using a number of different methods.

Does Getting Fired Go on Your Record?

Many people wonder, does getting fired go on your record?

If an individual includes a job that they abandoned on their application, there is a strong possibility that the new employer may ask questions about the duties performed at this job as well as the reason for leaving.

Or, there is the possibility the new employer will contact the other employer and ask questions about the applicant which will likely lead the previous employer to notify them of the job abandonment, just as if an individual disclosed a job in which they were fired.

Although including a job that was abandoned on an application may cause problems, leaving an abandoned job off of an application together may also pose some problems.

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Obviously, there is certain work history information that will be completely irrelevant to some employers.

An individual applying for a high-level executive job is not expected to disclose a retail job they held in college for example, so a work history gap that takes place when the individual was still in school is not something most employers will even ask about.

On the other hand, an individual who has held several different entry-level jobs over the last several years and has a sudden 9-month gap in their employment history is bound to raise some questions.

Large, unexplained gaps in an individual’s work history are often very concerning to employers for a number of reasons so it is very likely that they will at least inquire as to what the individual was doing during this time. In this case, individuals who are unprepared for a question about a job they failed to disclose are put into a tough situation.

They have the option to lie during the interview, which is never a good idea, or they have the option to admit they tried to be untruthful on their application and admit they abandoned their previous job.

How Long Does Job Abandonment Stay On Your Record?

Now the question of: “Does job abandonment go on your record?” has been answered, the next question is how long will it stay on your record?

Abandonment essentially stays on an individual’s record for as long as they choose. Failing to notify new employers of their previous job abandonment can cause plenty of problems, so simply acting like it didn’t happen is not necessarily the best course of action.

What Are Some Job Abandonment Consequences?

The biggest consequence of job abandonment is that it will affect the individual’s availability to get hired in the future.

Employers tend to ask applicants about previous jobs and employment history gaps so it is likely they will figure out something is unusual one way or another.

Job abandonment is not a very serious incident, even in more extreme cases, it is not illegal to leave a job without notifying anyone. But, knowing the real answer to “does job abandonment go on your record?” can indicate when the act may jeopardize future employment.