Does Comcast hire people with felonies?

What Comcast has said

Comcast has not published a company-wide policy on hiring people with criminal records. Its postings that include a California location carry a notice that Comcast will consider applicants with arrest or conviction records as California and local fair-chance laws require; the postings we read for other places did not. Its candidate privacy notice says that once an offer has been extended it may run background, reference or conflict-of-interest checks, and that it uses results, including criminal records and driver license checks, to decide suitability as the law allows, including for certain roles such as home security. Comcast's careers site says it is a drug-free workplace, which does not say whether applicants are tested. NBCUniversal, a Comcast company, is on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list; Comcast itself is not.

• Subsidiary scbc member

  The Second Chance Business Coalition lists NBCUniversal, a Comcast company, as a member. It does not list Comcast Corporation. We found no Comcast or NBCUniversal statement saying the membership applies to Comcast's own jobs.¹

• Local fair-chance notice

  Comcast postings that include a California location, such as a San Francisco Xfinity retail posting, a Los Angeles NBCUniversal auditor posting and New York sales postings also listed for California, say Comcast will consider applicants with arrest or conviction records under applicable law, naming the San Francisco, Los Angeles and Los Angeles County ordinances and the California Fair Chance Act. They add that some laws may bar hiring people convicted of certain crimes and that criminal history directly related to the job may lead to a conditional offer being withdrawn. Postings we read for places outside California, such as Philadelphia, Virginia, New Hampshire, Atlanta, Chicago and Denver, did not carry it.²

Does Comcast do background checks?

Comcast runs background checks after a job offer. Comcast's candidate privacy notice (updated Jan. 8, 2026) says that if an offer has been extended it may conduct background, reference or conflict-of-interest checks. It also says it uses results of background checks and screening, including education verification, criminal records and driver license checks, to decide suitability for employment at the time and in the manner the law allows, including for certain roles such as home security and for eligibility to use a company vehicle. It does not name a vendor or look-back period. Comcast postings with a California location add that criminal history directly related to the job may lead to withdrawal of a conditional offer. Twenty-two of the 249 postings we first read, all for installation and service technicians, list completing or obtaining background checks and licensing among the job's requirements. One Manager, Employee Relations posting in Philadelphia describes the job as the compliance partner for Comcast's pre-employment background check program, which it says covers criminal background checks, employment and education verification, military service review and motor vehicle record checks, with escalated cases and background check waiver requests. The posting does not explain how escalations or waivers work.^2,3,4,5

• Criminal history
• Education
• Past jobs
• Driving record

• How long a background check takes

Does Comcast drug test?

Comcast hasn't published a drug testing policy. Every Comcast careers page we read, including all 249 postings and the FAQ page, ends with a site footer line saying Comcast is a drug-free workplace. None says that applicants are tested before hiring.^4,6

Rules for specific jobs

• Residential installation and service technicians

  Twenty-two technician postings, in Vermont, West Virginia, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia, Maryland, Connecticut, Illinois and Florida, list background checks along with training, certifications and licensing among the duties. Twenty say the technician must complete them within defined timeframes; two say to obtain and maintain licensing and/or background checks based on federal, state or local requirements where applicable. A few postings also ask for a valid driver's license and satisfactory driving record. We read only these postings; other technician postings may differ.⁷

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.^10,11,12
• 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."^10,11
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^10,13
• 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.^14,15
• 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).^14,16

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.^10,13,17
• 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.¹⁸
• 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.^19,20

See whether you can clear your record in your state