Does Macy's hire people with felonies?

What Macy's has said

Macy's is listed as a member of the Second Chance Business Coalition, which promotes hiring and advancing people with criminal records. We found no Macy's careers page that describes its own process for applicants with records. Of the 245 postings we read on its careers site, most say nothing about screening; a Hayward, California yard driver posting says the job requires a background check, drug screening and a motor vehicle record report, and 13 supply chain and related postings say colleagues in supply chain facilities not covered by a collective bargaining agreement are randomly drug tested.

• Second Chance Business Coalition member

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

Does Macy's do background checks?

Macy's hasn't said publicly whether it runs background checks. Macy's careers FAQ and applicant privacy notice don't describe background checks. Of the 245 postings we read, one (a Class A CDL yard driver job in Hayward, California) says the position requires a background check, drug screening and a motor vehicle record report; none of the others mention a background check. Macy's doesn't say which other jobs are screened, when, what is checked, who runs it or how far back it looks.^2,3,4

• How long a background check takes

Does Macy's drug test?

Macy's drug tests for some roles. Thirteen of the 245 postings we read, mostly warehouse and other supply chain facility jobs in Tennessee, North Carolina, New Jersey, West Virginia, Florida and Ohio, say that in supply chain facilities, except locations covered by a collective bargaining agreement, random drug testing of colleagues is conducted monthly or semi-monthly, with colleagues selected at random by a third party. The Hayward yard driver posting lists drug screening as a requirement. The random testing applies to colleagues in those facilities; Macy's doesn't say whether it also tests applicants before hire, and store postings don't mention drug testing.^2,5

Rules for specific jobs

• Supply chain facility jobs (warehouses, distribution and fulfillment centers)

  Postings state that random drug testing applies to colleagues in a supply chain facility except where a collective bargaining agreement governs. Whether a pre-hire drug test is required is not stated.⁵

• Store jobs

  The store postings we read (including retail sales associate postings in Florida, California and other states) had no background check, drug test or fair-chance wording.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.^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