When making personnel decisions including hiring, retention, promotion, and reassignment, employers and organizations sometimes want to consider the backgrounds of volunteers and employees. For example, some organizations might try to find out about the person’s criminal record, work history, education, or financial history. Except for certain restrictions related to medical and genetic information it’s not illegal to ask questions about a volunteer’s or an employee’s background, or to require a background check.
However, any time you use a volunteer’s or employee’s background information to make an employment decision, regardless of how you got the information, you must comply with federal laws that protect volunteers and employees from discrimination. That includes discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, or religion; disability; genetic information (including family medical history); and age (40 or older).
Read more in the PDF: Background Check Blueprint
