Montana Domestic Violence Guide

Your Job After a PFMA Arrest

An arrest is not a conviction, but it can still cost you shifts, complicate a shared workplace, and put a job that involves firearms on hold.

Written by

Ashley Hurlbert, Partner, A&M Law

Licensed Montana attorney and co-founder of A&M Law. 18 years of experience as lead counsel in 50+ jury and bench trials. A Certified Mediator and Certified Guardian ad Litem focusing on family law, criminal defense, and DUI defense.

18 yearsReviewed by Misty GaubatzLast reviewed: September 27, 2026

A partner or family member assault (PFMA) arrest in Montana affects work in four main ways: you will miss time at the start because you cannot bail out before seeing a judge, court dates and release conditions can conflict with your schedule, a no contact order can keep you from a workplace you share with the protected person, and a firearm restriction can sideline a job that requires carrying one. This page takes them in turn. It is part of our Montana Domestic Violence Guide.

A note on scope. A&M Law handles the criminal case. Disputes with an employer, a union, or a licensing board are a different area of law, and we point out below where you would need that kind of lawyer.

Time Lost to Jail and Court

The first absence is not optional. A person arrested for any assault on a partner or family member may not be released on bail without first appearing before a judge (MCA § 46-9-302(1)(a)), and the statute requires only that the appearance happen without unnecessary delay (MCA § 46-7-101(1)). If the arrest falls before a shift, you may miss it.

After that, court dates are scheduled by the court. In a misdemeanor case the defendant "may appear by counsel only, although the court may require the personal attendance of the defendant at any time" (MCA § 46-16-120). That provision can reduce missed work, but it is the judge's call. Our page on how long a PFMA case takes gives a sense of the calendar.

Release Conditions and Your Schedule

Employment works in your favor at the release stage. The court takes employment into account when deciding release and when setting a bail amount (MCA §§ 46-9-109(2)(b)(i), 46-9-301(12)), and one of the listed conditions is that the defendant maintain employment or actively seek it (MCA § 46-9-108(1)(c)).

Other conditions can get in the way of a job:

a curfew that overlaps a night shift;
travel restrictions, if your work takes you out of the county or state;
twice-daily alcohol testing at fixed times; and
regular reporting to a pretrial agency during business hours.

The court is required to use the least restrictive conditions that will ensure appearance and protect any person or the community, and it can amend conditions on a reasonable basis (MCA § 46-9-108(3)). If a condition makes work impossible, bring your lawyer the specifics: your schedule, your route, and a supervisor's letter if one is available. See GPS and alcohol monitoring on release.

Whether to Tell Your Employer

The criminal statutes discussed in this guide do not require a defendant to report an arrest to a private employer. Whether you have to, or should, turns on your own job:

an employment contract or handbook that requires reporting arrests or charges;
a professional license with its own reporting rules;
a security clearance, a commercial driving position, or military service; or
a job where the absence itself has to be explained.

If you do speak with an employer, keep it to what the employer needs: that you have a pending court matter, the dates you must be away, and any restriction that affects your duties. Do not discuss the facts of the incident. What you say to a supervisor is not confidential, and a coworker can be called as a witness.

On job protection, Montana has a Wrongful Discharge From Employment Act. After a probationary period, a discharge that is "not for good cause" is wrongful (MCA § 39-2-904(1)(b)). "Good cause" means reasonable job-related grounds, including failure to satisfactorily perform job duties, disruption of the employer's operation, and other legitimate business reasons (MCA § 39-2-903(5)). How those rules apply to an arrest is a question for an employment lawyer.

Working at the Same Place as the Protected Person

This is the hardest situation, and the order decides it. If the order bars contact and sets a distance from the protected person's location, being in the same building during the same shift is likely a violation, even if you never speak. Each contact or attempt is a separate offense, and the protected person's agreement is not a defense (MCA § 45-5-209(8)(b)).

Do not try to sort it out with the protected person, and do not ask a coworker or manager to pass along a proposal. Contact through a third party can be prohibited too (MCA § 45-5-209(1)). The request goes to the court, which reviews the order at the first appearance and can write terms that fit a shared workplace if it finds that appropriate (MCA § 45-5-209(6)). Until then, stay away. See changing or lifting a no contact order.

Jobs That Require Carrying a Firearm

Three rules matter for law enforcement, corrections, security, and military positions while the case is pending:

An officer responding to a PFMA call must seize the weapon used or threatened in the alleged assault, and it may not be returned until acquittal or a court order (MCA § 46-6-603).
A release condition can prohibit possessing any firearm (MCA § 46-9-108(1)(h)). The statute has no exception for work.
At the initial appearance the judge must warn that a conviction may result in the loss of firearm rights under state and federal law (MCA § 46-7-102(1)(f)).

The long-term risk is federal. A person convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence may not possess a firearm or ammunition (18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)), and the federal exception for firearms issued for government use expressly does not apply to that prohibition (18 U.S.C. § 925(a)(1)). Whether a Montana PFMA conviction meets the federal definition depends on the subsection. In United States v. DeFrance, 124 F.4th 814 (9th Cir. 2024), the Ninth Circuit held that the bodily injury subsection, MCA § 45-5-206(1)(a), does not, and it left the other subsections undecided. See does a Montana PFMA count under federal law, and get advice about your own case before you rely on that. Our pages on police, military, and security jobs and firearms while the case is pending go further.

Licenses and Background Checks

A pending charge can appear in court records before the case is resolved, and a conviction has its own consequences for licensed work. Those subjects are covered in PFMA and background checks and PFMA and professional licenses. If a licensing board opens its own inquiry, you will want a lawyer who handles board matters in addition to your defense lawyer.

This page explains Montana law in general as of the 2025 Montana Code Annotated. It is not legal advice about your specific case.

Montana Domestic Violence Guide Domestic Violence Defense Firearms During the Case Public Defender in a PFMA Case Out-of-State Visitors First 48 Hours After a PFMA Arrest

FAQ

Your Job After a PFMA Arrest FAQ

Do I have to tell my employer I was arrested for PFMA?

Nothing in the PFMA or pretrial release statutes requires a defendant to notify a private employer. Your own job may, through a contract, a handbook, a professional license, a security clearance, or a rule that applies to armed or commercial driving positions. Read those documents, and if you are asked a direct question, do not answer falsely.

Can I be fired for a PFMA arrest in Montana?

It depends on the job. Under Montana's Wrongful Discharge From Employment Act, a discharge is wrongful if it was not for good cause and the employee had completed the employer's probationary period (MCA § 39-2-904(1)(b)). During a probationary period, employment may be ended for any reason or no reason. Whether an arrest, absences, or an order amounts to good cause is fact-specific, and the Act does not cover every job. An employment lawyer can advise you.

Do I have to miss work for every court date?

Not necessarily in a misdemeanor case. The statute says a defendant charged with a misdemeanor may appear by counsel only, although the court may require personal attendance at any time (MCA § 46-16-120). A judge can require you at any hearing, so confirm with your lawyer before missing any date.

The protected person works where I work. Can I go in?

Only if you can do so without violating the order. A no contact order can impose up to a 1,500-foot restriction from the protected person's location and bar all contact (MCA § 45-5-209(1)). If your workplace falls inside those terms, you need the court to amend the order before you return.

I carry a gun at work. What happens now?

Check your release order. A court may order, where applicable, that a defendant not possess a firearm or other dangerous weapon during release (MCA § 46-9-108(1)(h)). If that condition is in your order, it applies on duty as well as off, and you should tell your lawyer about the job right away.

Worried About Work While Your Case Is Pending?

We handle the criminal case and can ask the court for conditions that let you keep working where the facts support it. Call 406-830-3060 for a confidential consultation.

Call 406-830-3060 Send a Message