Guides · For employers
Guides to employment background check law
Plain-English guides to the rules employers follow when they use background checks, built from the statutes and agency rules and linked to each source. For a single state, see the state law pages. To write a letter or count a deadline, use the tools.
Reviewed
Primary sources
6 guides
Adverse action
Using a background check report in a hiring decision, in the order the steps happen.
- The adverse action process, step by step
The four federal steps, what counts as adverse action, the two exceptions, and where states add more. Start here. - FCRA disclosure and authorization
Step 1: the standalone disclosure, the authorization, investigative reports, and the 10 states that add rules. - “A Summary of Your Rights Under the FCRA”: what to send
Step 2: the form that goes with every pre-adverse action notice, which version to use, and the state notices beside it. - Individualized assessment of a criminal record
Step 2: weighing a record against the job, the factors, and the 14 states and cities that require it. - When an applicant disputes a background check
Step 3: the screening company’s 30-day reinvestigation, and the places that give the person more time.
Employer size
Duties that start at a headcount.
- What changes at your 5th, 15th, 20th and 50th employee
The federal lines, and where each state’s discrimination, harassment training, health continuation, family leave, paid sick leave and criminal history rules start.
Reference
- Glossary
The terms employers meet in background checks, in plain English, tied to the law.
Also on this site
- Background check laws by state
What each state, and the cities in it, adds to federal law. - What changed
New and coming changes to state and city background check law, in date order. - Adverse action letter generator
The pre-adverse and final notices, with the items your place adds. - How far back a background check goes
What may be reported, by state and pay, under federal and state limits. - Disclosure and authorization form
The standalone disclosure, the authorization and each state notice, for the job’s state. - Waiting period calculator
The earliest date to decide after a pre-adverse action notice. - Employment verification letter
A verification letter, as Word or PDF.
General information, not legal advice.