Does Republic Services hire people with felonies?

What Republic Services has said

Republic Services hasn't published a criminal-record hiring policy that we could find. Its careers site calls it a drug-free workplace and says it uses E-Verify, and its California job applicant privacy notice says it collects background check information, including criminal records, to perform background checks. It hires CDL drivers, who fall under federal DOT drug and alcohol testing, and runs a CDL training program open to outside candidates.

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

Republic Services runs background checks. Republic's California Careers Privacy Notice (effective January 1, 2020) lists pre-employment screening and background check information, including criminal records, among the data it collects, and performing background checks among its purposes. It doesn't say when the check happens or how records are weighed.¹

• Criminal history

• How long a background check takes

Does Republic Services drug test?

Republic Services hasn't published a drug testing policy. Republic says it is a drug-free workplace but hasn't published a company-wide testing policy. It hires CDL drivers, and federal FMCSA rules require a negative pre-employment drug test before a CDL driver operates a commercial vehicle.^2,3,4

Hiring programs

• CDL Training Program

  Republic says this program helps internal and external candidates earn a commercial driver's license and become Republic drivers. It isn't described as a second-chance program.⁵

Rules for specific jobs

• CDL drivers (including Class B retail/LTL drivers)

  Republic's operations careers page lists CDL drivers among the roles it hires, including retail drivers who operate Class B trucks.³

• Any CDL driving job

  FMCSA says all CDL drivers operating commercial motor vehicles on public roads are subject to DOT drug and alcohol testing, and an employer must receive a negative pre-employment drug test before the driver operates a commercial vehicle.⁴

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