背景调查合规性的世界总是在变化。一方面，大多数雇主觉得有义务审查他们的新员工，以避免因疏忽而引发的招聘诉讼和类似问题。另一方面，规范、规定或限制使用背景调查的法律和地方条例的数量正在增加，这给雇主带来了新的挑战，因为他们制定了既合规又全面的背景调查政策。

雇主需要谨慎行事，以确保他们不会超越背景调查合规性的任何界限。以下是目前影响雇主背景调查的几个监管问题。

禁止盒子

也许背景调查最大的监管趋势是禁止盒子立法的兴起。禁止盒子运动正在推动从工作申请中删除有关犯罪历史的问题。这个想法是，有犯罪记录的人应该有机会证明他或她适合工作，而不需要犯罪历史。雇主仍然有权进行背景调查，但许多禁止框法将这些检查推迟到第一次面试之后——甚至在雇主提供工作机会之后。

目前，已有35个州和150多个市县通过了禁箱法。所有这些法律都略有不同，有些仅适用于公共雇主（政府部门或办公室），有些也适用于私营公司。民选官员不断推出禁箱法，这意味着您所在地区可能在明年之前实施禁箱法，即使现在还没有。

请咨询国家就业法项目，以确定您所在的州、县或市是否需要遵守禁令。

公平信用报告法

《公平信用报告法》(FCRA) 规定了雇主必须如何使用背景调查来做出雇佣决定。如果您计划对候选人进行背景调查，您必须通知候选人（并获得他或她的书面同意）。

如果背景调查的结果导致您取消某人的工作考虑资格，FCRA 会规定您接下来必须遵循的步骤。单击此处了解有关 FCRA 合规性的更多信息。

平等就业机会委员会

平等就业机会委员会 (EEOC) 定期发布指南，指导雇主如何在工作环境中使用背景调查，而不会无意中歧视少数群体。具体而言，EEOC 认为公司的招聘政策不应对少数族裔产生“不同的影响”。

EEOC 的一个普遍引用的指南是，雇主应该逐案考虑每一个犯罪记录，不仅根据他或她的犯罪历史来判断候选人，还根据犯罪行为、该定罪与犯罪的相关性来判断候选人。手头的工作，自定罪以来已经过去的时间，以及类似的考虑。

其他规定

雇主必须考虑有关背景调查合规性的其他因素。例如，特定行业通常对背景调查或招聘标准有自己的要求。例如，联邦汽车运输安全管理局要求卡车运输公司和其他雇用商业司机的公司进行彻底的就业前药物测试。熟悉您所在行业的合规因素是必须的。

其他法规是由地理驱动的。该国不同地区有关于如何在招聘决定中使用逮捕记录的法律。阅读我们关于背景调查和逮捕记录的白皮书以了解更多信息。一些州——例如加利福尼亚州、伊利诺伊州和华盛顿州——已经禁止在就业情况下使用信用记录检查。

平衡尽职调查与背景调查合规性可能具有挑战性。研究您所在城市或州的背景调查法律将帮助您实现目标。

Employers need to tread carefully to make sure that they are not overstepping any of the boundaries of background checks compliance. Here are several of the regulatory concerns that currently affect employer background checks.

Ban the Box

Perhaps the biggest regulatory trend in background checks is the rise of ban the box legislation. The ban the box movement is pushing for questions about criminal history to be removed from job applications. The idea is that someone with a criminal record should have the chance to prove his or her fitness for a job without criminal history being a factor. Employers still have a right to conduct background checks, but many ban the box laws delay those checks until after the first interview—or even after the employer makes a job offer.

Currently, 35 states and more than 150 cities and counties have passed ban the box laws. All these laws are slightly different, with some applying only to public employers (government departments or offices) and others applying to private companies as well. Elected officials are constantly introducing ban the box legislation, which means that your area could have a ban the box law in place by next year even if it doesn’t right now.

Consult the National Employment Law Project to determine if ban the box compliance is required in your state, county, or city.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) dictates how employers must go about using background checks for employment decisions. You must notify a candidate (and get his or her written consent) if you plan to vet that person with a background check.

If the findings of a background check lead you to disqualify someone from job consideration, the FCRA lays down the steps that you must follow next. Click here to learn more about FCRA compliance.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) regularly issues guidance for how employers can use background checks in a job setting without inadvertently discriminating against minority groups. Specifically, the EEOC holds that a company’s hiring policies should not have a “disparate impact” on minorities.

One commonly-cited piece of EEOC guidance is that employers should consider every criminal record on a case-by-case basis, judging a candidate not just in light of his or her criminal history but on the crime, the relevance of that conviction to the job at hand, the amount of time that has elapsed since the conviction, and similar considerations.

Other Regulations

There are other factors regarding background checks compliance that employers must consider. For instance, specific industries often have their own requirements for background checks or hiring standards. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, for example, requires trucking companies and other companies that employ commercial drivers to conduct thorough pre-employment drug tests. Being familiar with the compliance factors in your industry is a must.

Other regulations are driven by geography. There are laws in different parts of the country regarding how arrest records can be used in hiring decisions. Read our white paper about background checks and arrest records to learn more. Some states—such as California, Illinois, and Washington—have banned the use of credit history checks for employment situations.

It can be challenging to balance due diligence with background checks compliance. Researching the background check laws in your city or state will help you get there.