Employment While on Probation

Employment & Probation Survival Kit (Florida)

How to keep your job without catching a violation: what probation tells your employer, how to report work to your officer, curfew and night shifts, out-of-county work, and how to ask for changes from the court. This is built for real supervision — not theory.

Download the Full Employment & Probation Survival Kit (Members)

Get printable, fillable documents you can hand to your probation officer, your employer, and (if needed) the court. These are designed to keep you working without getting violated.

• Employment Status Sheet – give probation your work info in one page
• Employer Notice Sheet – tells HR what to expect when probation calls
• Night Shift / Curfew Modification Request – ask legally for approved overnight work
• Out-of-County Work Notice – prove where you’ll be so you’re not labeled absconding
• High-Risk Job Self-Check – spot “problem jobs” before you accept them
• PO + Employer Scripts – respectful language that keeps everybody calm

Access the Full Kit

This Kit is not legal advice. It is designed to help you speak clearly, document honestly, and ask for what you are actually allowed to request.

1. Does probation actually want me to have a job?

Almost always: yes. Being employed makes you look more stable and less risky. It shows you have income for restitution, court costs, treatment, child support, etc. It gives you a routine.

Being unemployed is not illegal. But being unemployed with no structure makes you look higher risk. That’s when officers start leaning in harder.

Many probation offices have re-entry friendly employers or job fairs. You are allowed to ask. You do not get “in trouble” for saying, “I’m trying to work, can you help me find something I’m allowed to do?”

2. Will my probation officer call my job and say I'm on probation?

Yes. Employment verification is not optional — it’s required. Your officer must confirm:

• That you really work where you said you work,
• That the employer is legitimate, and
• That the job doesn’t break your conditions.

During verification, the officer can (and if asked, must) disclose that you’re on probation and what your charges are. The officer cannot lie for you.

This is not about humiliating you or getting you fired. It’s about making sure your job won’t become the reason you violate later.

Use this with your employer (you can read it or hand it over):

“I am currently on probation. Part of supervision is employment verification. My officer may call to confirm I work here and confirm my schedule. Their role is verification, not disruption.”

In the full Kit, you get a printable Employer Notice Sheet that explains this to HR in plain English so they don’t panic when probation calls.

3. Are there jobs I’m not allowed to take?

Some roles are high-risk under supervision and will get flagged or denied:

• Bars / clubs / alcohol-heavy work: If you have alcohol restrictions, bar work (bartender, barback, “helping at the club”) will almost always be a problem.
• Cash-handling / cashier roles: If you’re on probation for theft, fraud, or similar, probation may restrict you from direct access to money or registers.
• Security / bouncer / “protection” / loss prevention: Most people on probation cannot carry weapons. These roles are treated as enforcement roles, which can conflict with your conditions even if you personally say “I won’t carry.”
• Schools / youth / elder care: If your offense involved minors, vulnerable adults, or certain violence, you may be blocked by law or by supervision rules from working in those environments.
• In-home / unsupervised access work: Certain convictions make it hard or impossible to get licensed for jobs that send you into private homes alone.

You might not know a job is restricted until your PO tells you. That doesn’t mean you “did something wrong by applying.” It means you’re catching a problem early, instead of catching a violation later.

The full Kit includes a High-Risk Job Self-Check checklist you can run through before you say “yes.” If you hit a red flag, you bring it to probation first — not after you’re already on the schedule.

4. Can I work outside my county?

Often yes — if it's cleared and you can be reached.

Your officer has to be able to establish contact with you wherever you’re supposed to be, including at work. If you say “I’m on the clock at this warehouse in [Other County] from 9 AM to 3 PM,” they have to be able to confirm that.

This matters even more if you’re on community control (house arrest with GPS or without GPS) or any supervision that limits movement. Under that level, work is considered an “approved activity,” not free time. If you’re not where you’re approved to be, that’s grounds for violation. If they can’t locate you, that can trigger an absconder investigation.

Your protection is documentation.

As you accept the job: • Get the work address (with county), schedule, duties. • Give that to probation. Before Day One, tell your PO: “I start on [date] at [address, county] from [hours]. Supervisor is [name / number]. Do you need anything else from me so I’m in compliance?”

The full Kit includes the Out-of-County Work Notice form. You fill it and hand it in so nobody can say “We didn’t know where you were.”

5. Can I work night shift if I have a curfew or house arrest?

Sometimes, yes — but you need it approved first. Curfew, house arrest, community control, GPS: those rules do not disappear just because you “got a job.”

Your PO (and sometimes the judge) will look at:

• Is this a real employer, with a real supervisor who answers the phone?
• Are these hours legit for that industry?
• Does this job stabilize you (income, routine), or is this just an excuse to be out at 2 AM?

If it’s legit, they can support a carve-out or request a court modification that lets you be out specifically for those verified work hours.

The full Kit includes a Night Shift / Curfew Modification Request form where you plug in: employer, address, supervisor contact, exact hours, and how this income supports compliance (restitution, treatment costs, supervision fees, etc.).

You are not being annoying by asking. You are saying, “This job keeps me stable and in compliance, and I want to do this the right way.”

6. Can my probation terms be changed for work?

Yes. It’s called a modification. It’s normal.

Here’s how it usually goes in real life:

• You show your PO you have a verified job with a real schedule and supervisor.
• You explain the conflict (“My curfew is 8 PM, but the warehouse shift they offered is 10 PM–6 AM”).
• Your PO can support a request to the court asking to adjust that specific condition for work purposes only.
• The judge can approve or deny.

Judges respond better to: “This helps me stay employed, pay what I owe, and remain compliant,” than to “I don’t like my rules.”

The full Kit gives you language that sounds like stability and compliance, not attitude.

7. What do I actually say to people?

You need two scripts in your pocket at all times:

Script for employer / HR:

“I am currently on probation. Part of supervision is employment verification, so my officer may call to confirm I work here and confirm my schedule. Their role is verification, not disruption.”

Script for probation (new job or new shift):

“I start on [date] at [address, county] from [hours]. Supervisor is [name / number]. Do you need anything else from me so I’m in compliance?”

In the full Kit, both of these scripts are printed on the forms themselves, so you literally just hand the form over instead of trying to explain from memory while you’re stressed.

8. Biggest violation traps to avoid

• “I’ll just say I’m at work” when you’re not physically there. On community control / GPS / strict curfew, that can get treated as absconding.
• Accepting bar / club / “security” work when you know you have alcohol restrictions or you’re not allowed to have weapons.
• Working out of county without telling probation the address, supervisor, and hours in advance.
• Switching to an overnight shift without getting a curfew/house-arrest carve-out first.
• Lying to an employer that “no one will call.” They will call.

The Survival Kit exists to keep you from stepping on one of these.

Get the Full Kit (Fillable Forms + Templates)

The downloadable Employment & Probation Survival Kit includes:

• Employment Status Sheet (for your PO)
• Employer Notice Sheet (for HR / Supervisor)
• Night Shift / Curfew Modification Request
• Out-of-County Work Notice (to avoid absconder status)
• High-Risk Job Self-Check (spot banned work before you accept it)
• PO + Employer scripts, already written in compliance language

Get Instant Access

Use these forms respectfully and honestly. This is not legal advice. Always follow your court order.

OACRA helps people on probation stay organized, document compliance, and ask for what they are actually allowed to request — like work approvals, curfew adjustments for verified shifts, and travel notices for job sites.

This page is general information for Florida probation / community control. It is not legal advice. Always follow your written court order and instructions from your probation officer.