Guides · For employers
Employment background check glossary
The terms employers meet when they run background checks, in plain English. Where the federal law defines a term, the definition follows the statute and links to it. Each term links to the page that covers it in depth.
Reviewed
22 terms
Primary sources
Terms
Adverse action · Article 23-A · Authorization · Ban the box · Clean slate law · Conditional offer · Consumer report · Consumer reporting agency · Disclosure · Dispute · Employment purposes · Expungement · FCRA · Final adverse action notice · Individualized assessment · Investigative consumer report · Pre-adverse action notice · Salary exception · Sealing · Seven-year rule · Summary of Rights · Waiting period
Adverse action. In employment, “a denial of employment or any other decision for employment purposes that adversely affects any current or prospective employee” (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(k)(1)(B)(ii)). Not hiring someone, withdrawing an offer and denying a promotion are examples. See the adverse action process.
Article 23-A. The part of the New York Correction Law on hiring people with criminal records. It sets eight factors an employer weighs, and some notices must include a copy of it. See individualized assessment.
Authorization. The person’s written permission for an employer to get a consumer report about them for employment (15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2)(A)(ii)). See the disclosure and authorization form.
Ban the box. Laws that limit when an employer may ask about criminal history, often not until after a conditional offer. Also called fair chance laws. See the state law pages.
Clean slate law. A state law that seals eligible criminal records automatically, without the person having to file a petition. See recent changes.
Conditional offer. A job offer that depends on a condition, such as the result of a background check. Many fair chance laws allow criminal history questions only after one.
Consumer report. Any communication by a consumer reporting agency bearing on a person’s credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living, used or expected to be used for purposes such as employment (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d)(1)). An employment background check from a screening company is a consumer report.
Consumer reporting agency. A business that regularly gathers or evaluates information on people, for a fee, to furnish consumer reports to others (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f)). Background screening companies are consumer reporting agencies.
Disclosure. The written notice that a consumer report may be obtained for employment, given before the report is ordered, in a document that consists solely of the disclosure (15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2)(A)(i)). See the standalone document rule.
Dispute. A person’s challenge to the accuracy or completeness of a report. The screening company must reinvestigate, free of charge, generally within 30 days (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)). See disputes.
Employment purposes. Using a report to evaluate a person “for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention as an employee” (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(h)).
Expungement. A court order that removes or destroys a criminal record under state law. What it removes, and who may still see it, varies by state. See the state law pages.
FCRA. The Fair Credit Reporting Act, the federal law that governs consumer reports, including employment background checks (15 U.S.C. § 1681 and following).
Final adverse action notice. The notice an employer gives after deciding against someone based in part on a report. It names the screening company and explains the person’s rights (15 U.S.C. § 1681m(a)). See the letter generator.
Individualized assessment. A look at one person’s record against one job, weighing factors such as the nature of the offense, the time since and the duties of the job. Many states and cities require one before a decision based on criminal history. See where it is required.
Investigative consumer report. A consumer report built on personal interviews with neighbors, friends, associates or others about a person’s character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(e)). It carries extra notice duties. See the form generator.
Pre-adverse action notice. The notice an employer gives before deciding against someone based in part on a report, with a copy of the report and the Summary of Rights (15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3)(A)). See the waiting period calculator.
Salary exception. Federal time limits on reporting do not apply to a job paying, or reasonably expected to pay, $75,000 or more a year (15 U.S.C. § 1681c(b)(3)). Some states lift their own limits at a different salary. See how far back a check goes.
Sealing. Closing a record from public view under state law. Many states bar employers from asking about or using sealed records. See the state law pages.
Seven-year rule. The federal limit on how long most negative information may be reported: seven years for arrests, civil judgments, paid tax liens, collections and other items, and ten for bankruptcies. Convictions have no federal limit (15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)). See the lookback checker.
Summary of Rights. “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act,” the federal form an employer gives with the pre-adverse action notice. The current version is from March 2023. See which version to send.
Waiting period. The time between the pre-adverse action notice and the decision. Federal law sets no number of days; 5 business days is the common guide, and some states and cities set a minimum. See the calculator.
Last reviewed · General information, not legal advice.