Does Chipotle hire people with felonies?

What Chipotle has said

Chipotle has not published a policy on hiring people with criminal records, and its careers home page does not mention background checks or drug tests. A 2022 decision by the D.C. Commission on Human Rights dismissed a complaint that Chipotle's online application asked about criminal history too early in D.C., because the complainant had not actually applied; the Commission still noted that the application's criminal history questions may not have been clearly optional.

• Government decision

  In a January 7, 2022 final decision (Docket No. 15-1034-P (N)), the D.C. Commission on Human Rights dismissed a Fair Criminal Record Screening Act complaint against Chipotle about a 2015 online Team Member application that sought background check consent and asked about recent felony convictions before any offer. The dismissal rested on the complainant not being an applicant and lacking standing; no penalty was imposed. The Commission said the ruling did not clear Chipotle of wrongdoing and noted the application's criminal history questions may not have been clearly marked as optional.¹

Does Chipotle do background checks?

Chipotle hasn't said publicly whether it runs background checks. Chipotle has not published its current background check process. The 2022 D.C. decision describes a 2015 online application that asked for background check consent, which shows checks were part of hiring then but does not establish current practice.^1,2

• How long a background check takes

Does Chipotle drug test?

Chipotle hasn't published a drug testing policy. Some job postings say whether a test is required, so check the listing for the role you want.

Your rights, and how far back a check can go

• Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), an employer must get your written permission before it gets a background report about you from a background screening company.^4,5,6
• Before an employer decides not to hire, keep, or promote you because of something in a background report, it must give you a copy of the report and a document called "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act."^4,5
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^4,7
• The FCRA's seven-year limit does not apply to criminal convictions, so under federal law a conviction can show up on a background report no matter how old it is.^8,9
• Under the FCRA, background and credit reports generally cannot include arrest records, civil lawsuits, or civil judgments that are more than seven years old (or older than the statute of limitations, if that is longer).^8,10

Your full background check rights

Before you apply

• You can ask a background screening company for the information it has on you, and the CFPB keeps a list of consumer reporting companies, including employment screening companies, with their contact details.^4,7,11
• According to the Clean Slate Initiative, 14 states and Washington, D.C. have passed Clean Slate laws that meet its criteria for automatically clearing eligible records: Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Illinois, and Missouri, plus D.C.¹²
• The Federal Bonding Program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, lets states give employers free fidelity bonds that protect them against losses from a newly hired worker's dishonest acts, for job seekers with past justice involvement or in recovery from substance use.^13,14

See whether you can clear your record in your state