Does Disney hire people with felonies?

What Disney has said

Disney hasn't published a policy or statement on hiring people with criminal records, and it isn't on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list (NBCUniversal, a separate company, is). Its privacy policy for job applicants says it may get background, credit and criminal record checks from third parties, only as the law permits. Disney Cruise Line shipboard postings say new hires must obtain a criminal background check and undergo drug and alcohol testing once on board; the parks and resort postings we read, including hourly ones in California, Florida and Hawaii, say nothing about either.

We didn't find a public statement from Disney about hiring people with records: not on its careers site, in its reports, or in its announcements. That doesn't mean it won't hire you. It means there's nothing on the record to point to.

Does Disney do background checks?

Disney runs background checks for some roles. Disney Cruise Line shipboard postings (we read ten) list obtaining a criminal background check among what the new hire must do. Disney's privacy policy for non-guest relationships (updated July 24, 2023) says that for job applicants it may collect information from background check agencies, including background, education, work performance, credit and criminal record checks only to the extent the law allows, and that it may use applicant information to conduct reference or background checks. No Disney page says which parks, resort or other jobs are checked, when, or by which vendor.^1,2

• Criminal history

• How long a background check takes

Does Disney drug test?

Disney drug tests for some roles. Disney Cruise Line shipboard postings say the line is a drug-free workplace and that all new hires undergo drug and alcohol testing within their first week onboard and throughout their contracts. The parks and resort postings we read don't mention drug testing, and Disney hasn't published a company-wide policy.¹

Rules for specific jobs

• Parks and resorts (Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World and other resorts)

  We found no Disney page on whether or when parks and resort jobs are screened. The postings we read for these (for example Housekeeping Houseperson in Kapolei, Hawaii, and Walt Disney World technician and food and beverage roles) don't mention a background check, drug test or arrest and conviction wording.³

• Disney Cruise Line shipboard jobs

  Ten shipboard postings (for example First Officer, General Technician, Pastry Chef) list a valid passport and C1/D seaman's visa (Disney Cruise Line provides the documents to get one), a pre-employment medical and obtaining a criminal background check, and say all new hires are tested for drugs and alcohol in their first week on board and during their contracts.¹

• Entertainment technicians who handle pyrotechnics

  One posting (Entertainment Stage Technician, Walt Disney World) covers several work areas; for its pyrotechnics and special effects area it asks for the ability to get a Florida CDL and pass an ATF background check for handling pyrotechnics.⁴

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