Does Kroger hire people with felonies?

What Kroger has said

Kroger is a member of the Second Chance Business Coalition and was named at its 2021 launch. Its 2024 ESG report describes a New Beginnings program that works with justice-impacted organizations to create second-chance job opportunities, expanded to all of its food processing plants, warehouses and fulfillment centers. In 2024 its chief people officer said Kroger wants to offer careers to justice-impacted people. Kroger hasn't published how it screens applicants or whether it drug tests.

• Second Chance Business Coalition member

  Listed as a member of the Second Chance Business Coalition.¹

• Founding member of the Second Chance Business Coalition

  Kroger was among the 29 companies the coalition named as having joined when it launched on April 26, 2021.²

• Signed the 2016 Fair Chance Business Pledge

  The Kroger Company was named among new signers of the White House Fair Chance Business Pledge on November 30, 2016.³

• Company statement

  In an April 2024 hiring announcement, Kroger's chief people officer named justice-impacted individuals among the groups Kroger aims to offer careers to.⁴

Does Kroger do background checks?

Kroger hasn't said publicly whether it runs background checks. Kroger's general privacy policy says it may collect background information and employment history from job applicants, but we found no Kroger page that describes a background check, what it covers or when it happens.⁵

• How long a background check takes

Does Kroger drug test?

Kroger 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.

Hiring programs

• New Beginnings

  A Kroger program that works with justice-impacted organizations and more than 75 community partners to create second-chance job opportunities. Kroger's 2024 ESG report says it was expanded to include all of Kroger's food processing plants, warehouses and fulfillment centers. The report doesn't say whether store jobs are included.⁶

Rules for specific jobs

• Food processing plants, warehouses and fulfillment centers

  These are the operations Kroger names as part of its New Beginnings second-chance program in its 2024 ESG report.⁶

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.^8,9,10
• 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."^8,9
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^8,11
• 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.^12,13
• 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).^12,14

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.^8,11,15
• 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.¹⁶
• 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.^17,18

See whether you can clear your record in your state