Are employers legally required to conduct criminal background checks?

Generally, no. Most of the time, the employer is not legally required to run a background check, though many choose to.[1876] The only exception to this rule is if the job involves unsupervised access to sensitive populations or the handling of sensitive information (like law enforcement officers,[1877] airport security screeners,[1878] security guard positions,[1879] bank employees,[1880] port workers,[1881] childcare workers in federal facilities or agencies,[1882] certain insurance personnel,[1883] any personnel involved in administration of an employee benefits plan,[1884] defense contractors,[1885] and prisoner transportation personnel).[1886] For these specialized jobs, a background check is mandatory.

  1. 1876

    42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2; see also, NELP, Top Ten Best Practices for Fair Chance Policies, at 1-2, http://www.nelp.org/page/-/SCLP/2014/Guides/NELP_Best_Practices_and_Model_Policies.pdf?nocdn=1. ↑

  2. 1877

    5 U.S.C. § 7371(b). ↑

  3. 1878

    49 U.S.C § 44935(e)(2)(B). ↑

  4. 1879

    Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7583.9; see also Calif. Dep’t of Consumer Affairs, Security Guard Fact Sheet (July 2012). ↑

  5. 1880

    12 U.S.C. § 1829. ↑

  6. 1881

    46 U.S.C. § 70105(c). ↑

  7. 1882

    42 U.S.C. § 13041(a). ↑

  8. 1883

    18 U.S.C. § 1033(e). ↑

  9. 1884

    29 U.S.C. § 1111(a). ↑

  10. 1885

    10 U.S.C. § 2408(a). ↑

  11. 1886

    42 U.S.C. § 13726b(b)(1). ↑