Does Tyson Foods hire people with felonies?

What Tyson Foods has said

Tyson Foods was named among new signers of the White House Fair Chance Business Pledge in 2016, but we found no current Tyson page describing a policy on hiring people with records. Tyson's job postings say certain roles require a background check, with paperwork sent only after an offer is made. One distribution-center posting lists a post-offer drug screen, a plant posting mentions a waiting period after a failed drug screen, and a truck mechanic posting requires a driving record check.

• Signed the 2016 Fair Chance Business Pledge

  A November 30, 2016 White House fact sheet named Tyson Foods among employers making new commitments to the Fair Chance Business Pledge, which asked companies to reduce hiring barriers for people with records. We found no later Tyson page restating it.¹

Does Tyson Foods do background checks?

Tyson Foods runs background checks for some roles after a job offer. Tyson postings say certain roles require a background check and that applicants offered one of those roles get the forms after an offer is extended. Tyson's job applicant privacy notice says that, for U.S. applicants, it may collect information on criminal convictions, traffic violations and accident history when relevant to the position, including from background check providers. Tyson doesn't say which roles are checked or name a screening company.^2,3

• Criminal history
• Driving record

• How long a background check takes

Does Tyson Foods drug test?

Tyson Foods drug tests for some roles. A distribution center forklift posting says applicants must pass a post-offer health assessment and drug screening, and a plant production posting says anyone who failed a drug screen must wait six months before reapplying. Many other postings we checked don't mention drug testing, and Tyson hasn't published a company-wide policy.^2,4

Rules for specific jobs

• Truck mechanics (Springdale, Arkansas garage posting)

  A truck mechanic posting requires a driving record check: applicants must be 18 or older, hold a valid driver's license and have no DUI/DWI conviction in the last 12 months. Driving-record rules can differ by role.⁵

• Former Tyson workers reapplying (Pine Bluff, Arkansas production posting)

  A Pine Bluff, Arkansas production posting says former Tyson employees must wait 365 days before reapplying, people who have worked at Tyson more than three times can't apply, and a failed drug screen means a six-month wait. Other Tyson postings list different rehire waits (90 days for an Enid, Oklahoma forklift job, 180 days for a Springdale, Arkansas mechanic job), so the rule depends on the posting.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.^7,8,9
• 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."^7,8
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^7,10
• 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.^11,12
• 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).^11,13

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.^7,10,14
• 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.¹⁵
• 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.^16,17

See whether you can clear your record in your state