Requesting for a background check has been quite common that nobody is questioning whether the act is legal or not. A criminal background check is a process where the other person would know all the applicant’s information. Depending on the state where the company is located or the jurisdiction in the area, it might also include arrest records and other past criminal activities committed. For youngsters that committed criminal activities and received convictions, their cases maybe sealed to the public however some cases especially with an adult, arrest or other illegal activities might be included causing one the opportunity to be hired by the company.

Is it Legal?

Some companies would require a check to be done before deciding to hire job applicants’ especially financial institutions or educational institutions as one would most likely be handling delicate financial transactions, doing a criminal check is also important to protect young kids as well. That said, the job applicant has certain legal rights.

It is legal for a company to request for background information however, it is illegal for the company to ask any medical or genetic information during the hiring process. They may ask some information when they offer the job to the applicant. It is also illegal to ask about one’s race, sex, religion and origin as these questions do not have any impact on the job to be performed. The job applicant has the legal right not to answer or provide any information though this would affect whether the company would accept you or not.

Some companies actually hire third-party agencies to conduct the investigation for them. That said when the company is conducting the search, they need a written permission from the applicant, and not doing so would make the search illegal by nature.

What to Do?

Requesting for your own background check can help you to fix any issues that you might have with your personal history. Some who were convicted as a juvenile can have the record expunged however; some might still have the arrest records showing up in their records.

If your record shows your previous arrest and you were a juvenile, you might be eligible to have it expunged from your records. Adult criminal records may also be seal or destroy depending on the crime committed. You can contact your local court and request for expungement or sealing of your records. In certain instances that the expungement is not approved, one can also contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for more information.