Can You Work While On House Arrest?

House arrest might be an option if you were not convicted of a non-violent offense. When you are on house arrest, you are not exactly relegated to spending all of your time in the home. If you are employed, you can leave your home to work. However, there are rules. 

Submit a Work Schedule

Before you are allowed to leave your home to work, you will have to submit a work schedule to your probation officer or the criminal court. The schedule needs to be more detailed than the hours you are scheduled to work. 

Your schedule must detail how long it takes you to travel to and from work and the route you plan to take. 

Submitting a work schedule does not automatically give you the right to leave your home to work. In fact, there is a chance that your request could be denied. For instance, your probation officer might not agree with the type of employment you have and reject your request. 

Wear a Monitoring Device

It is highly possible that you will be required to wear a monitoring device while you are on house arrest. The device usually fits around the ankle and can be concealed with pants. 

Your probation officer or the court will require you to wear one while on house arrest so that your movements can be tracked at all times. It is important to note that if you do not follow the scheduled hours and routes that you submitted, you could face consequences, such as arrest. 

Pay Associated Fees

There is a catch to being allowed to be on house arrest and leave your home. House arrest is expensive and part of the costs of it will be passed onto you. 

You could be required to pay an additional fee for being on electronic monitoring. This is in addition to other fees, such as your lawyer's expenses, court fees, and filing fees. 

In fact, your probation officer might require you to find employment to help cover the costs if you are not already employed. 

Before asking to work outside of the home while on house arrest, it is a good idea to talk to your criminal defense lawyer. He or she can find out if you will need to meet any additional requirements and ensure that you are clear on them so that you do not accidentally violate the terms of your agreement. 

Talk to experts like Brian Walker Law Firm, PC for more information.


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