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Work Card Denials

This has long been known as a city of opportunity. Many people move here after accepting a job offer or intending to seek employment at one of the Las Vegas Strip Casinos. What many of them didn’t know, however, is that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department gets to decide if they are allowed to work or not. That’s right; pursuant to Clark County Codes and Las Vegas Municipal Codes, Metro is responsible for issuing work cards in all “businesses, trades and professions that require a high degree of supervision”. 

These work cards are known as a Sheriff’s work card, gaming cards, or non-gaming cards, depending on the type of job being applied for. The jobs that require these permission-to-work cards range from a bartender or dealer in a casino to a burglar alarm installer or locksmith. The prospective employee is given an application by the employer, and must pay a fee and submit to a background check and fingerprint scan. This means a person is not allowed to start work until the application is approved and a work card is issued.

If a person has past criminal convictions or even pending charges, they can be denied the right to work. Felony convictions and convictions for crimes of moral turpitude such as fraud or theft are the most common reasons for a denial, but in reality Metro could deny a work card for anything that appears on an applicant’s criminal background check.

Once denied, a person has the right to appeal Metro’s determination to a hearing master at the Clark County Business License Department. The judge can decide to uphold Metro’s decision, overturn it and grant a work card, or grant a conditional work card. It is at this stage where a person could most benefit by retaining an attorney to represent them. A conditional, or temporary work card, is just that; a temporary right to work. The conditional work card is often good for 6 months, and is granted with a set of conditions such as no further criminal arrests, gainful employment during the entire period, no drug use, etc. The conditions vary from case to case. If the person is successful in complying with all of the conditions, after the temporary period is over a full work card will be issued.

At Boley and AlDabbagh, we have a 100% success rate at work card denial appeal hearings, either by having helped our clients obtain permanent work cards or a conditional work card. If you are trying to get a job in Las Vegas (or anywhere in Clark County), but have been denied your sheriff’s work card based on your criminal background check, we can help you. Call today to schedule a consultation.