Does UPS hire people with felonies?

What UPS has said

We found no UPS statement on hiring people with criminal records, and UPS is not on the Second Chance Business Coalition member list. UPS's applicant privacy notice says it may obtain background check information and lists criminal record information among the data it collects. UPS says driver applicants' driving records are reviewed as part of the background check, and its hiring steps for tractor-trailer drivers include passing a drug screen.

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

UPS runs background checks. UPS's applicant privacy notice says UPS may obtain background check information and that criminal record information is among the data it handles. For package and cover drivers, UPS says the driving record is reviewed as part of the background check. UPS doesn't say when the check runs relative to an offer.^1,2

• Criminal history
• Driving record

• How long a background check takes

Does UPS drug test?

UPS drug tests for some roles. UPS's hiring-process page lists passing a drug screen as a step for tractor-trailer drivers, after the offer, road test and DOT physical. It doesn't mention drug testing for warehouse or package delivery driver hiring.³

Rules for specific jobs

• Warehouse workers / package handlers

  UPS says warehouse applicants can sometimes get an offer and schedule a first day within minutes, then submit identity and work-eligibility documents online before starting. It doesn't describe a background check or drug test step for these jobs.³

• Package delivery drivers

  UPS says package delivery drivers must be at least 21, pass a DOT physical, and have their driving record reviewed as part of the background check. The road test and DOT physical come after an offer.²

• Temporary cover drivers

  UPS says cover drivers must be at least 21 with a valid state license (no CDL required), pass a DOT physical, and have their driving record reviewed in the background check.⁴

• Tractor-trailer drivers (CDL, DOT-regulated)

  Federal rules require a negative pre-employment drug test before a CDL driver first performs safety-sensitive work for an employer, and UPS lists a drug screen in its tractor-trailer hiring steps.⁵

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