Will a civil offense fine show up on an employment background check?

Anonymous Jul 28, 2012 Shoplifting 3 views 1 answers

I recently was caught shoplifting from Kohl's. Stupid, I know. The cops were called and I was charged with an ordinance violation. I am a nursing student and this is all very concerning to me because I need a clean record to be able to obtain employment. I already know that I should attend my court date, plead not guilty, and ask to take part in a deferral program to try to make it not appear on my record as a problem. But now today I just received a letter from a law office saying that Kohl's hired them, and that they filed a civil action on me, for $200. Do I just pay this to make it go away? Or will this appear on my record as well? I am very broke which is why I was stealing in the first place, and I cannot afford an attorney- please help.

Attorney Answer

1

Benjamin Lieberman

Benjamin Lieberman · Jun 15, 2026

I highly doubt that actually filed suit against you for $200. Did you receive something more than just a letter? If you only received a letter, that would be common and my response is almost always the same. I generally advise clients to ignore these civil demand letters. You don't owe them anything. In order for you to owe them something they would have to sue you, (in some jurisdictions prove damages which they most likely couldn't do), and win. Even if they could win, the cost of pursuing this is substantially greater than any amount they can possibly recover so they usually don't. They send out these letters because it doesn't cost much and they are hoping that you don't know better and simply send them the money. Nothing will happen to you if you don't pay it. Take a look at an article in the Wall Street Journal at the link provided below.

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