Screening Compliance Guides
FCRA, adverse action, lookback limits, and state rules.
How far back does a background check go?
Criminal convictions can generally be reported indefinitely under federal law, while arrests without conviction, civil suits, and most other adverse items are limited to seven years. Around a dozen states cap convictions at seven years too, and employment and education verifications have no time limit at all.
The adverse action process, step by step
If an employer decides not to hire based even partly on a background report, the FCRA requires a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and a summary of rights, a reasonable waiting period for the candidate to respond, and then a final adverse action notice.
Ban the box and fair chance hiring rules
Ban-the-box laws prohibit asking about criminal history on a job application and delay the criminal background check until later in the process — usually after a conditional offer. More than 35 states and 150 localities have some version of the rule.
FCRA compliance for employers: the essentials
The FCRA requires employers to provide a standalone written disclosure, obtain written authorization, certify a permissible purpose to the screening company, follow the two-step adverse action process, and honor candidate dispute rights.