Does Sodexo hire people with felonies?

What Sodexo has said

Sodexo hasn't published a policy on hiring people with criminal records for its U.S. jobs, and it isn't on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list. Its U.S. hiring-process page and job postings say nothing about background checks or drug tests. Sodexo's UK and Ireland business runs a program that sets aside interviews for applicants with disclosed convictions who meet the job criteria; that program is not described for U.S. jobs.

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

Sodexo hasn't said publicly whether it runs background checks. Sodexo's U.S. hiring-process page describes applying, a recruiter call, interviews and an offer followed by onboarding paperwork such as medical release forms, and doesn't mention background checks. Sodexo's U.S. privacy policy, and the online privacy policy linked from postings as the Sodexo Global Privacy Statement (updated June 17, 2024), don't describe applicant screening. Some postings note that duties and requirements can vary by location because of Sodexo's contracts with clients, so screening at a particular site may differ.^1,2

• How long a background check takes

Does Sodexo drug test?

Sodexo 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.

Rules for specific jobs

• Jobs at client sites (corporate, university, hospital and other accounts)

  A Sodexo posting (Catering Service Worker at a client's U.S. headquarters) says duties and benefits can vary by unit or work location because of the contractual nature of the business. We found no Sodexo page on whether client requirements add screening at particular sites.³

• Sodexo UK and Ireland (not U.S.)

  In December 2024 Sodexo's UK and Ireland business announced that applicants with a disclosed criminal conviction who meet the job criteria and pass required screening will be given an interview, as part of its Starting Fresh program. That announcement is about the UK and Ireland and doesn't say it applies to Sodexo jobs in the U.S.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.^10,11,12
• 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."^10,11
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^10,13
• 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.^14,15
• 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).^14,16

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.^10,13,17
• 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.¹⁸
• 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.^19,20

See whether you can clear your record in your state