Guides on choosing, evaluating, and working with background screening providers, from the All Screeners team.
Tagged “federal-law” · Clear filter
Before you can run a background check, federal law says you have to give the applicant a disclosure form that stands completely alone. Mix it into your job application or add extra legal language, and you've built a template that can turn into a class action.
ComplianceThe FCRA never spells out an exact number of days before you can finalize a rejection. Here's what "reasonable time" actually means, why five business days became the default anyway, and how it's different from the separate 30-day dispute reinvestigation clock.
ComplianceBefore you reject a candidate over a criminal record, EEOC guidance says you have to actually look at three things: the offense, how long ago it happened, and whether it connects to the job. Here's what that step really involves.
ComplianceFCRA violations can trigger actual damages, statutory damages commonly cited at $100 to $1,000 per violation, punitive damages, and attorney's fees. Here's why one bad form usually turns into a class action instead of a single complaint.
ComplianceA real audit checks five things: is your disclosure form actually standalone and current, is adverse action handled the same way every time, are records disposed of properly under FACTA, is your policy applied consistently, and are you following the rules in every state you hire in.
ComplianceA background check policy written to the federal floor breaks state law in California, Illinois, Colorado, and New York City. Written to the strictest state, it needlessly restricts you everywhere else. Here's the two-layer structure that actually holds up: one federal-compliant baseline, plus state-specific overlays you review on a schedule.
ComplianceThere's no single federal law forcing every construction company to run background checks, but plenty of roles trigger real requirements anyway. Here's which ones actually need MVR checks and drug testing, and why subcontractors make consistent screening genuinely hard to enforce.
ComplianceFederal law doesn't let you toss an old background check file in the trash or hit delete and call it done. Here's what FACTA's Disposal Rule actually requires, and a simple workflow for a small HR team to follow.
ComplianceHawaii required employers to wait until after a conditional job offer to ask about criminal history starting back in 1998, years ahead of most states. Its lookback rule also treats felonies and misdemeanors differently, though the exact cutoff years are worth confirming before you build a policy on them.
ComplianceWhen a candidate disputes something on their background check, the reinvestigation is your provider's legal duty, not yours. Here's what FCRA Section 611 actually requires, how long it typically takes, and why deciding mid-dispute is a risk not worth taking.
ComplianceThe FCRA requires a specific CFPB-written Summary of Consumer Rights before adverse action, and employers can't substitute their own version. Here's what it is, when it's required, and where to get the current one instead of guessing at old wording.
ComplianceFCRA doesn't let anyone pull a background check for any reason they like. There's a specific, legally defined list of permissible purposes, and employment is one of them, but only when the disclosure, authorization, and actual purpose all line up.
ComplianceA clean criminal background check doesn't cover healthcare hiring. You also need to check the OIG's exclusion list and SAM.gov, and you need to keep checking, not just at hire. Here's what each list actually does and why it matters.
ComplianceA written "no felons" policy is riskier than one bad individual decision, because a blanket rule can't do what the law actually requires: check if the conviction relates to the job. Here's why disparate impact hits a written policy harder.
ComplianceNo federal law bans running a background check before you make an offer, but most employers wait anyway. Here's the federal-level reasoning behind offer-then-screen, and why it holds up even where no state law requires it.
ComplianceNo, not if a third-party company is running the report. FCRA requires a standalone written disclosure and the candidate's signed authorization before you pull anything. Calling a reference yourself is a different, narrower rule.
Report TypesShort answer: if driving is part of the job, you need an MVR. Here's exactly which roles actually require one, which don't, and why a hire-time check isn't enough for drivers you keep on the road every day.
ComplianceDOT testing applies to safety-sensitive, DOT-regulated jobs like commercial driving, and follows a fixed federal process. Non-DOT testing covers everyone else, and you set the rules yourself.
ComplianceYes. FCRA consent and disclosure rules apply to a background check on a contractor or gig worker the same way they apply to an employee. What the law actually looks at, and why the contractor-versus-employee question is a separate legal fight this article won't try to settle.
ComplianceNo, federal law generally bars this, and the rule isn't the FCRA. It's 11 U.S.C. Section 525, a Bankruptcy Code provision most employers have never heard of, and it covers private employers too.
ComplianceYes, but not with a blanket "no felons" policy. The EEOC expects an individualized look at the offense, how long ago it happened, and whether it actually relates to the job.
ComplianceA promotion doesn't take an employee out of FCRA's reach. The same disclosure, authorization, and adverse-action rules that cover new hires apply to internal candidates too, including the often-missed rule that the disclosure needs its own standalone form.
ComplianceFederal law doesn't ban asking about salary history. A growing list of states and cities do, and it's specifically that question, not "what are you looking for," that's off-limits. Here's the difference and what to ask instead.
ComplianceYes, generally, under federal law. But a fast-growing number of states now limit what you can do with a positive marijuana result, separate from whether you can run the test at all. Here's where the line actually sits, and why DOT-regulated roles don't get to use it.
ComplianceCalifornia caps most background check reporting at 7 years, and that cap doesn't bend for salary. Here's the actual rule, where the $75,000 exception claim comes from, and why it doesn't apply to a California hire.
ComplianceFederal law caps most background check history at seven years, but that cap disappears for jobs paying $75,000 or more, and criminal convictions were never covered by it at all. Here is the exact federal rule, with the parts most sites get wrong.
ComplianceGINA bars employers from asking about genetic information or family medical history in hiring, and consent doesn't fix it. Here's where it hides in post-offer exams and wellness paperwork, and the narrow exceptions that actually apply.
ComplianceFCRA governs how you get and use a background check report. Title VII, enforced by the EEOC, governs whether the decision you made with it was discriminatory. Where employers get one right and blow the other.
ComplianceClean Slate laws seal certain records automatically once a state's conditions are met, but the data your background check vendor pulls from doesn't always catch up. Here's why sealed records still surface, and what that means for your liability.
ComplianceIn nearly every state, a sealed or expunged record is legally treated as if it never happened. What you can ask, what your background check report should show, and the licensing exceptions that actually matter.
ComplianceBan-the-box and fair chance laws control when you can ask about criminal history, and the rules change by state and sometimes by city. Here is the general pattern, plus a starting reference table you should confirm with a lawyer before you rely on it.
ComplianceArrests aren't convictions, and the EEOC treats them differently. What you can legally ask, what a background check report can show, and where the two rules diverge.
ComplianceWhat PBSA accreditation actually audits, how it differs from membership, and why it matters when you're evaluating a background screening provider.