Can an employer go back further than 10 years on a background check and hold it against you?
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Can an employer go back further than 10 years on a background check and hold it against you?
Asked on January 26, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, North Carolina
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Yes, an employer may do this. So long as an employer does not discriminate against employees/prospective employees on the basis of a protected characteristic (e.g. due to their race, religion, sex, age over 40, or disability), employers are free to set their own criteria for who to hire--and that includes conducting backgrounds checks that extend further back in time than 10 years, or not hiring employees due to the results of those checks.
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