Does Kohl's hire people with felonies?

What Kohl's has said

We found no Kohl's statement on hiring people with criminal records, and Kohl's is not a Second Chance Business Coalition member. In December 2024, California's Civil Rights Department announced that Kohl's had settled a state Fair Chance Act complaint alleging it rejected an applicant for a Los Angeles warehouse job using criminal history gathered unlawfully through a questionnaire. Its careers FAQ says that after you submit your offer and consent forms, its screening vendor, First Advantage, emails you about the pre-employment check, including how to take a drug test if your job requires one. The FAQ says the background check for hourly store and distribution jobs can take up to a week, sometimes longer.

• State settlement

  On December 3, 2024, California's Civil Rights Department announced that Kohl's had settled an individual complaint under the state Fair Chance Act. The complaint alleged Kohl's turned down an applicant for a Los Angeles warehouse job based on criminal history it obtained unlawfully through a criminal history questionnaire. The department said each settling company would pay the complainant and take corrective steps that varied by case; it didn't say which steps applied to Kohl's.¹

Does Kohl's do background checks?

Kohl's runs background checks after a job offer. Kohl's careers FAQ places the background check after you accept an offer and submit offer and consent forms, and before you choose a first day; it names First Advantage as the vendor that runs the pre-employment check. The FAQ doesn't use the word conditional or say what the check covers. Kohl's California applicant privacy policy lists criminal checks, investigative consumer reports, credit checks and driving records as examples of background-check information it may collect, without saying which apply to which jobs.^2,3

• Criminal history

Kohl's names First Advantage as its screening company. You can ask First Advantage for a copy of any report it prepares about you.^2,3

How long it takes: Up to a week, sometimes longer (hourly store and distribution center jobs)²

• How First Advantage checks work: status, timing and disputes
• How long a background check takes

Does Kohl's drug test?

Kohl's drug tests for some roles. Kohl's careers FAQ says the First Advantage email explains how to complete the pre-employment check, including how to take a drug test if one is required. Kohl's doesn't say which jobs require a test or what it tests for.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.^11,12,13
• 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."^11,12
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^11,14
• 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.^15,16
• 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).^15,17

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.^11,14,18
• 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.¹⁹
• 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.^20,21

See whether you can clear your record in your state