New York background check for employment

Two record sources behind a New York background check

New York keeps criminal history in two separate systems, and a lot of confusion comes from mixing them up.

Because the court search depends on an exact name and birth date, a spelling change or a second last name can cause a miss or a wrong match. The court system says sealed cases should not appear on it. Updates arrive from the courts on a rolling basis, faster inside New York City than upstate.

Getting your own DCJS rap sheet

Only you, or a lawyer acting for you, can ask DCJS for your record. You cannot request a relative's or a coworker's file. Every request needs a fresh set of fingerprints so DCJS can be sure the record is yours.

You choose between two versions. The suppressed copy leaves out sealed or suppressed matters. The unsuppressed copy includes them, such as dismissed cases, certain violation convictions and youthful offender findings. If you want both, you send two requests.

1. Read the service codes on the DCJS personal record review page and pick the version you need.
2. Set up a printing session with the state's contracted vendor, online or by phone. If no site is near you, the page explains a fingerprint card option.
3. Bring one accepted ID.
4. Watch your mailbox. DCJS answers by mail and does not hand records out in person.

If paying the fingerprint fee is hard, DCJS has a waiver process; ask its Record Review Unit about it.

Jobs in New York that bring a fingerprint check

DCJS releases a fingerprint based record to an employer or licensing agency only when a local, state or federal law allows that check for the position. Outside those roles, most private employers in New York buy a name based report from a background screening company, which pulls court records.

Fingerprints often come up in jobs that serve children, older adults or patients, in school districts, in security guard licensing, and in many state licenses. Your hiring manager or the board issuing the license supplies the right service code. Our page on the fingerprint background check explains how prints are taken and matched, and the FBI check guide covers the national record.

Someone asking for fingerprinting for an FBI background check in New York for a visa or a job abroad follows another route, which goes to the FBI directly, not to DCJS.

Article 23-A: the eight factors

New York's Correction Law Article 23-A covers public agencies and private employers with ten or more workers. It says an employer may not turn you down because of a past conviction unless the offense has a direct relationship to the job, or putting you in the role would create an unreasonable danger to people or their belongings.

To decide, the employer must weigh eight things:

• the state's public policy of encouraging employment of people with records
• the specific duties of the job
• how the offense bears on your ability to do those duties
• how much time has passed
• your age at the time
• how serious the offense was
• evidence of rehabilitation and good conduct
• the employer's legitimate interest in protecting property and people

A certificate of relief from disabilities or a certificate of good conduct creates a presumption that you are rehabilitated for the offenses it covers. If you are turned down, you may ask in writing for the reasons, and the employer has 30 days to answer. See the text of Correction Law Article 23-A.

New York City adds the Fair Chance Act

In the five boroughs, employers with four or more workers cannot ask about your record, search it or hint at it in a job ad before they make a conditional offer. After the offer they may ask about convictions and pending cases.

Some items stay off limits at every stage: an arrest that never produced a conviction, sealed cases, cases where you were not found guilty, adjournments in contemplation of dismissal that were not revoked, violations such as disorderly conduct, and youthful offender or juvenile findings.

If the employer wants to pull the offer, it must follow the Fair Chance Process: give you its written analysis of the factors, give you a copy of the check, and hold the job open at least five business days for your reply. New facts from you mean a fresh analysis. Read the NYC Commission on Human Rights Fair Chance Act summary.

New York background check 7 years: what the federal limit covers

Many people search for a 7 year rule. Federal consumer report law bars a background screening company from listing non conviction arrest entries older than 7 years, with an exception when the position's yearly pay will reach 75,000 or more. Convictions are a different story: federal law sets no time cap on them.

In New York, the age of an offense still matters through Article 23-A, because time passed is one of the eight factors. The lookback limits page lays out the federal limits in full, and the FTC explainer on employer checks covers your notice rights.

Correcting a wrong entry in New York

Where you send a correction depends on what is wrong.

• Arrest details such as the charge or date: the arresting police agency must send the fix to DCJS in writing.
• A missing or wrong case outcome: have the court certify the final outcome, then send that paper to DCJS.
• A case that should be sealed: send a certified sealing order. Plain photocopies are not accepted without the court's raised seal.

When the faulty line sits in a private screening report, also write to the company that produced it, enclosing those same court papers. The steps are in our guide to disputing report errors. For fair treatment of records, see what the EEOC tells applicants.

Laws and agency steps change. Confirm the details on the DCJS and court system sites, and let a New York employment attorney or a legal aid group look at your particular facts.