Federal law allows an employer to consider criminal records, but the same standards apply to everyone, and a policy must not unfairly screen out a protected group. According to the EEOC and FTC publication Background Checks: What Employers Need to Know, it is illegal to check the background of applicants and employees when that decision is based on race, national origin, color, sex, religion, disability, genetic information (including family medical history) or age (40 or older).
The publication gives examples of unequal treatment. Asking only people of a certain race about their financial histories or criminal records is evidence of discrimination. An employer that does not reject applicants of one ethnicity with certain criminal records cannot reject applicants of other ethnicities because they have the same or similar records.
The publication also says an employer should not use a policy that excludes people with certain criminal records if the policy significantly disadvantages people of a particular race, national origin or other protected characteristic and does not accurately predict who will be a responsible, reliable or safe employee. Under 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k)(1)(A)(i), such a practice is unlawful when it causes a disparate impact on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin and the employer fails to demonstrate that it is job related for the position in question and consistent with business necessity.
Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c(a)(2) and (5), records of arrest generally drop off a consumer report after seven years, while records of convictions of crimes have no such limit. Report time limits are covered in How Far Back Can an Employment Background Check Go?.
Some provider profiles in the Background Checks results of the MyDrugTesting.com directory list hours of operation for each day of the week.
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