Sample Background Check Policy Report for a Warehouse Shipping Clerk in Chicago
This page shows a complete sample background check policy report from our policy builder for a small employer. A fictional logistics company with 25 employees entered one position, a warehouse shipping clerk, at a single site in Chicago. In return, the builder applied 33 federal, Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County rules and wrote the draft policy language below. Read the guide first, then scroll through the full report exactly as the company received it.
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The scenario behind this sample background check policy
Every report starts with a short questionnaire. For this sample, a fictional employer, ACME Logistics, described a full-time warehouse shipping clerk. The clerk works at one fixed site in Chicago, does not drive, and holds no license. Moreover, the company employs 25 people and uses a background screening company. It plans a criminal check only: county courts, the statewide repository, a national database, and the sex offender registry. It plans no drug test, no credit report, no verifications, and no social media review.
Two answers reveal gaps. The company has no written screening policy, and it does not use a written individualized assessment before rejecting an applicant. Consequently, the report flags both in its change list and writes the policy for the company. In contrast to the registered nurse sample, this is a lean report. A small employer with a simple check still faces four layers of law, but far fewer cards.
| Input | What the company entered | Why it changes the report |
|---|---|---|
| Position | Warehouse Shipping Clerk, full-time, salaried at $58,000 a year | Pay below $75,000 keeps the FCRA seven-year limit on non-conviction records in force. |
| Employer | Private company, no regulated industry, 25 employees | Size triggers Title VII, the Illinois Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, and Illinois pay-scale posting rules. |
| Work site | Chicago (Cook County), Illinois; headquarters in Illinois | Illinois law applies, and the Chicago and Cook County human rights ordinances add record-use limits and interview-stage timing. |
| Duties | None of the listed risk factors: no driving, cash, patients, or vulnerable populations | No registry or license checks are required; the sex offender search stays optional. |
| Checks planned | County, statewide, national database, and sex offender registry searches; felony, misdemeanor, and pending charges; seven-year lookback | The report confirms the package, tells the company to verify database hits, and limits pending charges to job-related conduct. |
| Gaps | No written policy; no written individualized assessment | Both become items in “Your process: what to change,” and the draft policy at the end fills the first gap. |
How to read the report
Each recommendation is a card with a colored label and a plain-English instruction. A source line cites the statute, regulation, or guidance behind it. Therefore, your employment counsel can verify every item without re-researching it. The four labels tell you how much weight each card carries.
A law that applies to this position requires or prohibits the step. Where two laws conflict, the report shows the strictest one as required.
No statute compels the step, but skipping it creates real legal risk. Most of these come from EEOC guidance and negligent-hiring case law.
A step that well-run screening programs take everywhere. This sample has one: a fixed seven-year lookback where no state cap applies.
Context the company needs: which laws apply and why, record-keeping periods, and the draft policy language itself.
The strictest rule wins
This clerk is covered by federal law, Illinois law, and two local ordinances at the same time. Instead of listing four versions of each rule, the report picks the most protective one. For example, Illinois bars the criminal history question until the applicant is found qualified or selected for an interview. Cook County applies the same rule to employers of any size. As a result, the report shows that interview-stage timing as the required rule.
Gaps become a change list
Near the end, the section “Your process: what to change” repeats only the cards where current practice falls short. Here it lists two items. Adopt a written screening policy, and adopt the written individualized assessment that Illinois requires. Additionally, the numbered draft policy folds every required item into language the company can adopt.
What the sections cover
The report has 13 sections in a fixed order. It opens with the FCRA steps every employer must follow. Then it explains which laws apply and when the company may ask about criminal history. Next, it covers which records count and how far back to look. After that come notices, the search package, credit reports, drug testing, salary history, and other checks. Finally, it lists the process changes and the draft policy.
The sample report: Warehouse Shipping Clerk, Chicago
Below is the full report, rendered as HTML. The cards match what the company saw on screen and in its 11-page PDF. The employer and contact are fictional. However, every rule, citation, and date is real and current as of September 28, 2026. Use the chips to jump to a section.
Start hereLaws applied to this positionWhen you may ask about criminal historyWhich records you may considerHow far back you may lookIndividualized assessment and required noticesRecommended searches for this positionEmployment credit reportsDrug and marijuana testingSalary historyOther checks and verificationsYour process: what to changeDraft policy language for this positionYour answers
Warehouse Shipping Clerk
Required or prohibited by law 13Strongly recommended to reduce legal risk 7Best practice 1Informational reminder 12
Jurisdictions applied
Start here: the foundation of every screening policy
These items apply to every position you screen. Put them in place before anything else.
Stand-alone disclosure and signed authorization before every report
Before you order any report from a background screening company, give the applicant a written disclosure that consists solely of the statement that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes, and get a signed (or e-signed) authorization. Keep waivers, extra terms, and state notices off the disclosure page; put state-required language on a separate page. Certify to the screening company that you have done this and will follow the adverse-action rules.
Source: 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2) Read the law page →
Apply the same screening package to every applicant for the same position
Order the same searches and apply the same written decision criteria to every applicant for this position. Deviations by individual (for example, checking one candidate’s credit but not another’s) are the most common source of discrimination claims, and Title VII disparate-treatment liability attaches to employers with 15 or more employees. Document any exception and the business reason for it.
Source: Title VII; EEOC Enforcement Guidance (2012)
Two-step adverse action before any rejection based on a report
If a report may lead you to reject an applicant, first send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the CFPB Summary of Rights, then wait at least five business days for the applicant to respond, and only then send the final adverse action notice naming the screening company, stating that it did not make the decision, and explaining the right to dispute and to a free copy within 60 days.
Source: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681b(b)(3), 1681m Read the law page →
Keep a written background screening policy and adverse-action procedure
A written policy that names the searches ordered for each position, the timing, the decision criteria, the individualized-assessment steps, and the adverse-action sequence is what regulators and plaintiffs ask for first. You do not have a complete written policy today; the draft language at the end of this report is a starting point.
Source: EEOC guidance; state requirements
When rules conflict, the strictest one wins
This position is subject to 4 layers of law (federal, state, and local). Where they differ, follow the most protective rule for the applicant; that is the rule shown as “required” below. Recommendations are current as of September 28, 2026.
Keep the file
Keep the disclosure, authorization, report, assessment notes, and notices for at least one year after the decision (two years for federal contractors); several laws require longer (Maryland four years, Los Angeles and San Francisco three years, Massachusetts CORI acknowledgments one year with a dissemination log). Store reports separately from the personnel file and dispose of them securely.
Source: 29 C.F.R. § 1602.14; FTC Disposal Rule
Laws applied to this position
Federal law
The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs every report prepared by a screening company; Title VII and the EEOC’s 2012 guidance govern how criminal history may be used (15 or more employees); the ADA governs the timing of medical examinations.
Source: 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq.; 42 U.S.C. § 2000e Read the law page →
Illinois state law
Applied because work is performed in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Private employers and employment agencies with 15 or more employees may not inquire into or consider criminal history until the applicant has been determined qualified and notified of an interview, or, if there is no interview, until a conditional offer (820 ILCS 75/15). Exempt: positions where a law excludes people with certain convictions, positions requiring a fidelity bond, and positions licensed under the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act. Penalties, as amended by P.A. 104-2 (eff. June 16, 2025): written warning with 30 days to cure, then up to $500, then up to $1,500 per violation. State executive agencies removed the question from initial applications under a 2013 administrative order, not this Act. The Cook County ordinance applies the same interview-stage timing rule to employers of any size, and the Chicago ordinance adds record-use limits and notice duties for every employer with one or more employees in the city.
Source: 820 ILCS 75 (Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act); 775 ILCS 5/2-103.1 (Employee Background Fairness Act) Read the law page →
City of Chicago ordinance
The current § 6-10-054 (as amended Apr. 19, 2023) no longer contains an application-stage timing rule; the timing limit for Chicago employers is the state Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act (15 or more employees: no inquiry until the applicant is found qualified and notified of an interview, or until a conditional offer if there is no interview). The Chicago ordinance applies to every employer with one or more employees working in the city: employers may not inquire into or use arrest records (arrests without conviction, juvenile records, and sealed or expunged records), and may use a conviction record only where a law excludes people with the conviction, a standard fidelity bond would be denied, the offense has a substantial relationship to the job, or employment would pose an unreasonable risk to property or safety, after weighing time elapsed, number of convictions, nature and severity, surrounding facts, age at conviction, and rehabilitation. A preliminary written notice with the reasoning and at least five business days to respond, then a final written decision with notice of the right to file with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, are required. Job ads may not state any preference or limitation the chapter prohibits (§ 6-10-055).
Source: Chicago Mun. Code § 6-10-054 (Human Rights Ordinance, added Nov. 5, 2014; amended Apr. 19, 2023 and Nov. 15, 2023); timing rule from Illinois Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, 820 ILCS 75 Read the law page →
Cook County ordinance
Employers with one or more employees that have a principal place of business in or do business in Cook County may not inquire into or consider criminal history until the applicant has been determined qualified and notified of selection for an interview or, if there is no interview, until after a conditional offer (§ 42-35(h)). Exempt: positions where a law excludes people with certain convictions and positions requiring a standard fidelity bond that the conviction would bar. The individualized-assessment, preliminary-notice, five-business-day, and final-notice duties come from the Illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5/2-103.1), which applies statewide, not from the county ordinance.
Source: Cook County Code § 42-35(h) (Human Rights Ordinance, ch. 42, art. II, Employment; Criminal Record or Criminal History) Read the law page →
When you may ask about criminal history
Wait until after the applicant is selected for an interview or determined qualified
Ask about, search for, or consider criminal history only after the applicant is selected for an interview or determined qualified. This is the strictest timing rule among the laws that apply to this position (Illinois, City of Chicago and Cook County).
Source: 820 ILCS 75 (Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act); 775 ILCS 5/2-103.1 (Employee Background Fairness Act); Chicago Mun. Code § 6-10-054 (Human Rights Ordinance, added Nov. 5, 2014; amended Apr. 19, 2023 and Nov. 15, 2023); timing rule from Illinois Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, 820 ILCS 75; Cook County Code § 42-35(h) (Human Rights Ordinance, ch. 42, art. II, Employment; Criminal Record or Criminal History) Read the law page →
Remove criminal-history language from job ads and applications
Delete the conviction question from the application form and remove statements such as “no felonies” or “clean record required” from postings; most fair-chance laws (for example Colorado, New Jersey, Vermont, Maine, Washington, New York City, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle) treat such statements as violations. Where the law requires it (Los Angeles County, Philadelphia), the posting must instead state that criminal history will be reviewed after a conditional offer.
Source: State and local fair-chance laws
Run non-criminal checks first
Sequence the order: identity and SSN trace, employment and education verification, license checks, and any permitted credit or MVR check before or with the offer; order the criminal search only once the conditional offer has been made. New York City and Los Angeles County make this sequencing mandatory.
Which records you may consider
Never consider sealed, expunged, set-aside, or pardoned records
Every jurisdiction that applies bars their use. Applicants may lawfully deny that these records exist, and screening companies may not report them. Clean-slate laws now seal eligible records automatically in many states, so a record that appeared on a report last year may be off-limits this year. Employers may not consider expunged, sealed, or impounded records or ask whether a record was ever sealed or expunged; applications must carry the statutory notice that such records need not be disclosed (20 ILCS 2630/12).
Source: State sealing and expungement statutes Read the law page →
Never consider juvenile records
Juvenile adjudications are confidential in every state that applies to this position and may not be requested or used: Juvenile records may not be inquired into or used (775 ILCS 5/2-103).
Source: State juvenile-records statutes; FCRA § 605
Do not consider arrests, dismissed charges, or diversions that did not end in a conviction
Illinois: Inquiring into or using arrest records, expunged, sealed, or impounded records, or juvenile records is a civil-rights violation (775 ILCS 5/2-103).
Source: State fair-employment and arrest-record statutes Read the law page →
Pending charges: job-related conduct only, and re-verify before deciding
Pending charges may generally be considered when the alleged conduct relates to the job, but do not treat a charge as a conviction. Re-check the disposition before any final decision.
Source: State fair-chance laws
Convictions: consider only those that relate to this job
Felony and misdemeanor convictions may be considered, but only through the individualized assessment described below and only where the offense relates to the duties of a Warehouse Shipping Clerk. Blanket exclusions (“no felonies”) are unlawful in the fair-chance jurisdictions that apply here and are treated as presumptively discriminatory by the EEOC everywhere.
Source: EEOC Enforcement Guidance (2012); state fair-chance laws
How far back you may look
Recommended lookback: seven years
No state seven-year cap covers this position. Under the federal FCRA, convictions may be reported at any age; arrests and other non-convictions may not be reported after seven years. Recommended scope: seven years. The EEOC treats older records as weaker evidence of risk, and a fixed written limit is easier to defend than open-ended review.
Source: 15 U.S.C. § 1681c; EEOC Enforcement Guidance (2012)
Salary and the seven-year rule
Because this position is expected to pay $58,000, below the $75,000 federal threshold, screening companies may not report arrests, civil judgments, collections, or other non-conviction adverse items older than seven years. State thresholds (for example $20,000 in Kansas, New Hampshire, and Washington; $25,000 in New York; $75,000 in Maryland and Texas; none in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Montana, or New Mexico) are applied above where relevant.
Source: 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(b)(3)
Individualized assessment and required notices
Written individualized assessment is mandatory here
You do not currently use a written individualized assessment. It is required for this position. Before withdrawing an offer because of a record, document the nature and gravity of the offense, the time elapsed, and the nature of the job, give the applicant the record and your preliminary reasoning, wait the required period, consider any response, and then issue a final written decision. Illinois: No adverse action for a conviction unless there is a substantial relationship between the offense and the job or an unreasonable risk to property or safety, after weighing six factors: time since the conviction, number of convictions, nature and severity, facts surrounding the conviction, age at the time, and rehabilitation. Preliminary written notice naming the disqualifying conviction, the reasoning, a copy of the report, and the right to respond; at least five business days to respond; final notice with the conviction, the reasoning, any internal appeal, and the right to file with the Illinois Department of Human Rights. City of Chicago: The current § 6-10-054 (as amended Apr. 19, 2023) no longer contains an application-stage timing rule; the timing limit for Chicago employers is the state Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act (15 or more employees: no inquiry until the applicant is found qualified and notified of an interview, or until a conditional offer if there is no interview). The Chicago ordinance applies to every employer with one or more employees working in the city: employers may not inquire into or use arrest records (arrests without conviction, juvenile records, and sealed or expunged records), and may use a conviction record only where a law excludes people with the conviction, a standard fidelity bond would be denied, the offense has a substantial relationship to the job, or employment would pose an unreasonable risk to property or safety, after weighing time elapsed, number of convictions, nature and severity, surrounding facts, age at conviction, and rehabilitation. A preliminary written notice with the reasoning and at least five business days to respond, then a final written decision with notice of the right to file with the Chicago Commission on Human Relations, are required. Job ads may not state any preference or limitation the chapter prohibits (§ 6-10-055). Cook County: Employers with one or more employees that have a principal place of business in or do business in Cook County may not inquire into or consider criminal history until the applicant has been determined qualified and notified of selection for an interview or, if there is no interview, until after a conditional offer (§ 42-35(h)). Exempt: positions where a law excludes people with certain convictions and positions requiring a standard fidelity bond that the conviction would bar. The individualized-assessment, preliminary-notice, five-business-day, and final-notice duties come from the Illinois Human Rights Act (775 ILCS 5/2-103.1), which applies statewide, not from the county ordinance.
Source: 775 ILCS 5/2-103.1 (Mar. 23, 2021); Chicago Mun. Code § 6-10-054 (Human Rights Ordinance, added Nov. 5, 2014; amended Apr. 19, 2023 and Nov. 15, 2023); timing rule from Illinois Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, 820 ILCS 75; Cook County Code § 42-35(h) (Human Rights Ordinance, ch. 42, art. II, Employment; Criminal Record or Criminal History) Read the law page →
Illinois notices and forms
Employee Background Fairness Act preliminary and final notices, with a five-business-day response window, apply in addition to FCRA pre-adverse and adverse-action letters. Applications must state that the applicant need not disclose sealed or expunged records (20 ILCS 2630/12).
Source: 820 ILCS 75 (Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act); 775 ILCS 5/2-103.1 (Employee Background Fairness Act) Read the law page →
Recommended searches for this position
County criminal search: current and prior counties of residence
The county court is the source of record; order a search in each county where the applicant has lived or worked in the lookback period, identified through an SSN trace and address history. Statewide and national databases supplement, not replace, county searches.
Source: Industry standard; FCRA § 613 accuracy duties Read the law page →
Statewide repository search where the state offers one
Add the statewide search for each work and residence state that has a usable repository; it catches counties the address history misses. Some states (California, for example) have no public statewide search, and repository data quality varies.
Database results must be verified at the source before you act on them
A national multi-jurisdictional database is a locator tool. Before any adverse decision, the record must be confirmed against the court of record (the FCRA requires screening companies to keep public-record information complete and current, and several states bar reliance on unverified database hits). Never reject on a database-only result.
Source: 15 U.S.C. § 1681k Read the law page →
Sex offender registry search
Included in your package; it is a reasonable addition for most roles and is required for positions serving vulnerable populations.
Employment credit reports
No credit report planned
Good: Illinois, City of Chicago and Cook County restrict employment credit checks, and this position would not qualify for an exemption.
Drug and marijuana testing
No drug testing planned
You indicated no drug testing for this position. If you add it later, re-run the builder: several of the jurisdictions here restrict marijuana testing and require written policies.
Salary history
Do not ask about salary history
Illinois — Employers may not ask about or seek prior pay from the applicant or a former employer; employers with 15 or more employees must include pay scale and benefits in postings (Jan. 1, 2025). Remove the question from applications and interview scripts, and tell your screening company not to request prior pay during employment verification.
Source: 820 ILCS 112/10(b-5), (b-10) (salary history); 820 ILCS 112/10(b-25) (pay scale posting, P.A. 103-539, eff. Jan. 1, 2025) Read the law page →
Other checks and verifications
E-Verify is voluntary for this position
E-Verify is voluntary under federal law except for federal contractors with the FAR E-Verify clause (48 C.F.R. 52.222-54: enroll within 30 days of award, verify new hires within three business days of hire, and verify existing employees assigned to the contract). Every employer must still complete Form I-9 for each new hire: Section 1 by the first day of work and Section 2 within three business days of the first day of work (8 C.F.R. § 274a.2). The current Form I-9 is the 01/20/25 edition (expires 05/31/2027); USCIS also accepts the 08/01/23 edition through 05/31/2027. Several states mandate E-Verify for private employers above a size threshold; the state rule is shown where it applies. California and Illinois restrict how E-Verify may be used (no pre-offer queries; specific notice duties).
Your process: what to change
Keep a written background screening policy and adverse-action procedure
See “Start here: the foundation of every screening policy” above. A written policy that names the searches ordered for each position, the timing, the decision criteria, the individualized-assessment steps, and the adverse-action sequence is what regulators and plaintiffs ask for first. You do not have a complete written policy today;…
Source: EEOC guidance; state requirements
Written individualized assessment is mandatory here
See “Individualized assessment and required notices” above. You do not currently use a written individualized assessment. It is required for this position. Before withdrawing an offer because of a record, document the nature and gravity of the offense, the time elapsed, and the nature of the job,…
Source: 775 ILCS 5/2-103.1 (Mar. 23, 2021); Chicago Mun. Code § 6-10-054 (Human Rights Ordinance, added Nov. 5, 2014; amended Apr. 19, 2023 and Nov. 15, 2023); timing rule from Illinois Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, 820 ILCS 75; Cook County Code § 42-35(h) (Human Rights Ordinance, ch. 42, art. II, Employment; Criminal Record or Criminal History) Read the law page →
Draft policy language for this position
Background Screening Policy — Warehouse Shipping Clerk
1. Purpose and scope. [Company Name] conducts background screening for the position of Warehouse Shipping Clerk to verify qualifications, protect employees, customers, and property, and comply with applicable law. This policy applies to all applicants for the position. The same searches and criteria apply to every candidate for the position.
2. Consent. Before any report is obtained from a consumer reporting agency, the candidate receives a stand-alone written disclosure and provides written authorization. State-required notices are provided on a separate page. [Company Name] certifies its compliance to the screening company.
3. Timing. Criminal history is not requested on the application or in job advertisements. [Company Name] asks about, searches for, and considers criminal history only after the applicant is selected for an interview or determined qualified. Non-criminal checks (identity, employment, education, license) are completed first.
4. Searches. The screening package for this position consists of: county criminal court search in each county of residence and employment during the lookback period; statewide criminal search where available; national criminal database and sex-offender registry search, with all results verified at the source. The lookback period is seven years. Records older than the lookback period, sealed, expunged, set-aside, or pardoned records, juvenile records, and arrests or charges that did not result in a conviction (other than pending charges whose alleged conduct relates to the position) are not considered.
5. Decision criteria. A conviction is considered only if it relates to the duties of the position. For a Warehouse Shipping Clerk, the offense categories with a documented relationship to the job are listed in the position screening matrix. No candidate is rejected automatically because of a record.
6. Individualized assessment. Before withdrawing an offer because of a record, the hiring manager and Human Resources document the nature and gravity of the offense, the time elapsed since the offense or completion of the sentence, and the nature of the position; provide the candidate with the record and the preliminary reasons; allow at least 5 business days for the candidate to respond with evidence of inaccuracy, rehabilitation, or mitigating circumstances; consider the response; and issue a final written decision.
7. Adverse action. If a report may lead to an adverse decision, [Company Name] sends a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the Summary of Rights, waits the period in section 6, and then sends a final adverse action notice that names the screening company, states that the screening company did not make the decision, and explains the candidate’s dispute rights and right to a free copy of the report.
8. Salary history. [Company Name] does not ask candidates or prior employers about compensation history. Offers are based on the budgeted range for the position.
9. Records and confidentiality. Screening reports and assessment records are stored separately from personnel files, accessible only to those involved in the decision, retained for [one / two / four] years after the decision, and then securely destroyed.
10. Review. This policy and the position screening matrix are reviewed at least annually and whenever the position, its work locations, or applicable law changes. Rules current as of September 28, 2026.
Source: Draft for review by counsel
Your answers
The questionnaire answers that produced this report, exactly as the company entered them.
| Job title | Warehouse Shipping Clerk |
| What type of employer are you? | Private company |
| How many employees do you have across all locations? | 25 |
| Is your organization in any of these regulated industries? | None of these |
| Will the background check be obtained from a background screening company (a consumer reporting agency) or run in-house by your staff? | Screening company |
| Where will this position perform its work? | At a fixed work site |
| Work site location | Chicago, Cook County, Illinois |
| Where is your company headquartered? | Illinois |
| Who is being screened? | New applicant |
| Employment status | Full-time |
| Is this a managerial or executive position, or exempt from overtime under the FLSA? | No |
| Does the position involve any of the following? | None of these |
| Will the applicant drive as part of the job? | No |
| Is this a safety-sensitive position under federal law, state law, or your own written policy? | No |
| Is a background check for this position required by a federal or state law, a licensing board, a government contract, or a bonding or insurance requirement? | No |
| Does the position require a security clearance or work on a federal contract? | No |
| Does the position require a professional license or certification? | No |
| How is this position paid? | Annual salary |
| Expected annual compensation | $58,000 |
| Will you ask the applicant about their prior salary or wage history? | No |
| Will you run a criminal history check? | Yes |
| Which criminal searches do you plan to run? | County courts (current and prior residences); Statewide repository; National multi-jurisdictional database; Sex offender registry |
| Which record types do you want to consider? | Felony convictions; Misdemeanor convictions; Pending charges |
| How far back do you want to look? | 7 years |
| When do you currently ask about criminal history? | Only after a conditional offer |
| Will you use a written individualized assessment (nature of the offense, time elapsed, relation to the job) before rejecting an applicant because of a record? | No |
| Will you apply the same criteria to every applicant for this position? | Yes |
| Will you request an employment credit report? | No |
| Will you drug test? | No |
| Which verifications will you run? | None |
| Will you pull a motor vehicle record (MVR)? | No |
| Will you review the applicant’s social media or other public internet content? | No |
| Will any automated, algorithmic, or AI-based tool be used to score, rank, or screen applicants or background reports? | No |
| Will you rescreen employees or use continuous monitoring after hire? | No |
| Will you check federal exclusion lists (OIG, SAM)? | No |
| Has the applicant lived, worked, or studied outside the U.S. in the past 7 years? | No |
| At what stage do you currently run the background check? | After a conditional offer |
| Do you give applicants a stand-alone FCRA disclosure and get written authorization before ordering the report? | Yes |
| When a report leads you to reject someone, do you send a pre-adverse action notice, wait, and then send a final adverse action notice? | Yes, both notices |
| What would you like the builder to produce? | Both |
Important
This report is general compliance information prepared from the laws in effect on the date shown. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws change frequently and local rules may add requirements; confirm the recommendations with your employment counsel before adopting a policy. screeningpolicy.com and Langley Porter AG LLC do not make hiring decisions and are not a law firm.
What a small employer does with this background check policy report
A 25-person company rarely has an HR department, so the report is built to be finished in a week. The owner generates it and a lawyer reviews it. Then the screening vendor configures it and the hiring manager follows it. Each step below takes less time than the research it replaces.
Send it to counsel
Forward the PDF to your employment lawyer. Every card cites its source, so review takes minutes rather than billable days.
Fix the change list
Work through “Your process: what to change.” Here that means adopting the draft policy and the six-factor Illinois individualized assessment.
Brief your screening vendor
Order the confirmed package: county, statewide, and national database searches with source verification, plus the sex offender registry. Set the scope to seven years.
Adopt the draft policy
Fill in the bracketed fields and attach the screening matrix. Then calendar an annual review, or a new report when the law changes.
Why a small Chicago employer still needs a position-specific policy
Three fair-chance rules at once
Illinois, Chicago, and Cook County each regulate criminal history use. The state act covers employers with 15 or more employees, and the county ordinance covers everyone. The report shows the interview-stage timing rule and the six-factor assessment the company must document.
Notices most small employers miss
Illinois requires its own preliminary and final notices, with five business days to respond, on top of the FCRA letters. Applications must also state that sealed or expunged records need not be disclosed. The report lists each notice and its source.
Pay and E-Verify rules
Illinois bans salary-history questions and requires pay scales in postings for employers with 15 or more employees. It also restricts how E-Verify may be used. The report flags both, even though the company asked only about criminal checks.
Sample background check policy report: frequently asked questions
What is a sample background check policy report?
It is a real output of our policy builder for one job position, shown here as an example. The report lists every federal, state, and local screening rule that applies to the position. It labels each one by weight, cites its source, and ends with draft policy language. This sample covers a warehouse shipping clerk at a 25-person company in Chicago, Illinois.
Is ACME Logistics a real employer?
No. The company and the contact name are fictional, and the answers were chosen to show a typical small-business hiring scenario. However, every rule, citation, penalty amount, and effective date is real. All of them are current as of the date printed on the report.
Why does a simple warehouse job still produce 13 required items?
The FCRA, Title VII, and the ADA apply to every employer that uses a screening company. Illinois then adds the Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act and the Human Rights Act assessment duties. It also adds the Employee Credit Privacy Act and the salary-history ban. Chicago and Cook County add their own human rights ordinances. None of those laws care that the job is entry level.
What do the red, amber, green, and blue labels mean?
Red means a law requires or prohibits the step. Amber means the step is strongly recommended to reduce legal risk, usually under EEOC guidance or negligent-hiring case law. Green marks a best practice with no legal driver. Blue marks a reminder that gives context, such as which laws apply or how long to keep records.
Why is the seven-year lookback a best practice rather than a requirement?
Illinois has no state seven-year cap on conviction reporting. The company pays under $75,000, so only the FCRA limit on non-conviction records applies. Therefore, no law forces a seven-year window for convictions. The report still recommends one. The EEOC treats older records as weak evidence, and a fixed written limit is easier to defend.
When may a Chicago employer ask about criminal history?
Not on the application. Under the Illinois Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act, an employer with 15 or more employees must wait. It may ask only after the applicant is found qualified and notified of an interview. If there is no interview, it must wait for a conditional offer. Cook County applies the same rule to employers of any size, so the report shows it as required.
What is the Illinois individualized assessment the report requires?
Since March 2021, the Illinois Human Rights Act limits adverse action over a conviction. The offense must have a substantial relationship to the job or pose an unreasonable risk. The employer must weigh six factors. They are time since the conviction, number of convictions, nature and severity, surrounding facts, age at the time, and rehabilitation. It must then send a preliminary notice and wait at least five business days. Finally, it sends a final notice with the right to file with the Illinois Department of Human Rights.
Why does the report mention salary history and E-Verify when the company asked only about criminal checks?
The builder applies every screening law that touches the position, not only the checks you plan. Illinois bans questions about prior pay and requires pay scales in postings for employers with 15 or more employees. It also limits how E-Verify may be used. Those rules bind the company whether or not it thought to ask.
Can I use the draft policy language as written?
Treat it as a draft for counsel, not a finished policy. Fill in the bracketed fields, such as the company name and the retention period. Then attach the screening matrix and have your employment lawyer confirm the language. The report is general compliance information and not legal advice.
How do I get a report for my own position?
Open the policy builder, answer the questionnaire for one position and its work locations, and pay $25. The report appears on screen instantly and arrives by email as a PDF. Nothing you enter is stored on our servers. A small employer with one simple position gets a report like this one in about ten minutes.
Get the same report for your position in about ten minutes
Enter the position, the pay, and every place the person will work. Our engine compiles the applicable federal, state, and local screening laws and returns a color-coded report with draft policy language. Then your counsel reviews it and signs off.
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screeningpolicy.com is operated by Langley Porter AG LLC. Reports are general compliance information, not legal advice, and do not create an attorney-client relationship. Confirm every recommendation with your employment counsel before adopting a policy.