Does Publix hire people with felonies?

What Publix has said

We found no Publix statement on hiring people with criminal records, and Publix is not on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list. Publix says that if you're selected after the interview, you go through a background check and onboarding before starting, which typically takes a few more days. On its careers blog Publix has said it requires a drug test because associates work closely with customers.

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

Publix runs background checks during onboarding. Publix's careers Q&A (September 2025, updated March 2026) says candidates selected after the interview go through a background check and onboarding before starting work. Publix doesn't say what the check covers or who runs it.¹

How long it takes: Publix says the background check and onboarding typically take a few more days after you're selected.¹

• How long a background check takes

Does Publix drug test?

Publix drug tests applicants. In an undated careers Q&A on its blog, Publix said it requires a drug test because associates work closely with customers. A current pharmacist posting also requires no unacceptable result on a company-sponsored drug test in the past three years. Publix's careers FAQ doesn't restate the policy, so check your offer details.^2,3

Rules for specific jobs

• Store jobs

  Publix says it hires for some store positions starting at age 14, and that retail hiring usually takes one to three weeks before the background check and onboarding.¹

• Truck drivers

  A 2019 Publix careers article says truck drivers are chosen from current Publix warehouse employees, and that selected associates have their driving record reviewed, a background check completed, and must pass a drug screen and DOT physical.⁴

• Pharmacists

  One pharmacist posting (Full-time Floater, Pooler, GA) requires that the applicant not have had an unacceptable result on a Publix drug test within the last three years.³

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