Does Dunkin' hire people with felonies?

What Dunkin' has said

Dunkin' says many of its restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, each solely responsible for hiring at its restaurants, so screening at those restaurants is decided by the franchisee. For people who work for or apply to Inspire Brands and its Dunkin' entities, Inspire's privacy notice lists criminal records information, including background check results from government agencies such as the FBI, and drug screening information among what it may collect. We found no Dunkin' statement on hiring people with criminal records, and Dunkin' is not on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list.

We didn't find a public statement from Dunkin' 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 Dunkin' do background checks?

Dunkin' hasn't said publicly whether it runs background checks. Inspire Brands' privacy notice for team members and job applicants (effective January 1, 2023), which covers Inspire and its Dunkin' entities, lists criminal records information, including results of background checks obtained through government agencies such as the FBI, and drug screening information among applicant data it may collect. It doesn't say which jobs are checked or when, and it is written around California privacy law. Dunkin' says franchisees handle hiring at their own restaurants, and we found nothing on what they check.^1,2

• How long a background check takes

Does Dunkin' drug test?

Dunkin' hasn't published a drug testing policy. Inspire Brands' privacy notice lists drug screening information among data it may collect from job applicants to assess eligibility for employment, but neither Inspire nor Dunkin' has published which jobs, if any, require a test. Franchisees set their own practices.¹

Rules for specific jobs

• Crew and managers at franchised Dunkin' restaurants

  Dunkin's careers site says many restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, each an independent employer solely responsible for hiring and other employment matters, and that questions about a franchise restaurant job should go to the franchisee. Dunkin's privacy policy says franchise applicants' information is handled by their franchise organization.³

• Corporate jobs with Inspire Brands or Dunkin'

  Dunkin's privacy policy sends corporate team members and job applicants to Inspire Brands' privacy notice, which lists criminal records information (including FBI and other government background check results) and drug screening information among applicant data.²

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.^6,7,8
• 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."^6,7
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^6,9
• 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.^10,11
• 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).^10,12

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.^6,9,13
• 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.¹⁴
• 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.^15,16

See whether you can clear your record in your state