Does United States Postal Service hire people with felonies?

What United States Postal Service has said

USPS is a federal employer covered by the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, so it says it can't ask about criminal history until after a conditional job offer. Its hiring handbook says each applicant with a conviction must be evaluated individually, a conviction record alone isn't enough to disqualify someone, and rejection requires a finding that the record is directly related to the job. After you accept an offer, USPS says you must pass a criminal background check, a drug screen and a medical assessment, plus a driving-record check for driving jobs.

• Follows a fair-chance law

  USPS says the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019 bars it from asking applicants about criminal history before a conditional offer, and it explains how to file a complaint within 30 days of a suspected violation.¹

• Reviews records individually

  USPS Handbook EL-312 section 514 says applicants with convictions are entitled to compete on individual merits, a conviction record alone doesn't disqualify, and a record can't be the only reason for rejection if there was no conviction in the prior 10 years and no incarceration in the prior 5 years.²

Does United States Postal Service do background checks?

United States Postal Service runs background checks after a job offer. USPS says that once you accept an offer you complete more screening, which can include a criminal background check using FBI fingerprints and state and county records, a medical questionnaire, and a driving-record check for driving jobs. If the Inspection Service can't finish the check because you lived abroad, USPS says you're ineligible. A 2019 USPS background-check FAQ says a consumer reporting agency, which it names as General Information Services (GIS), may pull records, and that you must reply to the consent email within five calendar days.^3,4,5

• Criminal history
• Driving record
• Drug screen

• How long a background check takes

Does United States Postal Service drug test?

United States Postal Service drug tests applicants. USPS lists passing a drug screening, along with a criminal background check and medical assessment, among its employment requirements, and says screening happens after you accept an offer.^3,6

Rules for specific jobs

• All USPS applicants: what you must disclose (2019 FAQ)

  USPS's 2019 background-check FAQ, written before the federal Fair Chance Act took effect in December 2021, says you may leave off dismissed charges or acquittals, sealed or expunged convictions, juvenile matters and non-criminal offenses, but must list felony and misdemeanor convictions even if you served no jail time. USPS now says it asks about criminal history only after a conditional job offer. The handbook says set-aside, vacated, expunged or sealed convictions and juvenile adjudications are not used.⁵

• Applicants on probation or parole, or with pending charges

  The handbook says being on probation or parole is not by itself a reason to reject an applicant and pending charges can't cause automatic rejection, though a pending charge that would disqualify on conviction can hold up the application until it is resolved.²

• Driving positions (carriers and others)

  USPS requires a safe driving record where the job involves driving, and the post-offer screening can include a motor vehicle record check.³

• Postal Inspectors (law enforcement)

  Postal Inspector applicants with a conditional offer go through a Top Secret clearance investigation that includes credit and criminal history checks.⁷

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