Does XPO hire people with felonies?

What XPO has said

XPO hasn't published a policy on hiring people with criminal records, and it isn't a Second Chance Business Coalition member. Its privacy notice for California applicants and employees says the information it may collect includes background check and criminal history information and drug test results, but we found no XPO notice for other states. XPO postings carried on state job boards say applicants who get a conditional offer may be required to pass a pre-employment drug test; an XPO LTL truck driver posting also requires a Class A CDL and a DOT drug test, and federal rules require pre-employment drug testing for CDL drivers. We couldn't read a live posting on XPO's own careers site.

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

XPO hasn't said publicly whether it runs background checks. XPO's California Consumer Privacy Act notice, which covers California job applicants, employees and contractors, says that, where the law permits, XPO may collect background check and criminal history information and may use applicant data for background and related checks and drug tests, and lists background check vendors as a source; it doesn't say which jobs are checked or when. XPO's global applicant privacy notice (last updated July 2021) mentions only references and employment history. We found no XPO screening notice that covers applicants nationwide.^1,2

• How long a background check takes

Does XPO drug test?

XPO drug tests for some roles. XPO hasn't published a company-wide drug-testing policy. XPO posting text carried on state job boards says applicants who receive a conditional offer may be required to pass a pre-employment drug test; we saw that line on a CDL truck driver posting in La Salle, Illinois and on forklift operator postings in Meridian, Idaho and Spokane, Washington. The driver posting also says drivers must pass a DOT drug test and have no positive tests or refusals in the last three years, and federal rules require a pre-employment drug test for CDL drivers (see role notes). XPO's California privacy notice says it may collect drug test results.^1,3,4,5,6

Rules for specific jobs

• XPO LTL local CDL-A truck drivers

  One XPO LTL driver posting (La Salle, IL), as carried on Illinois's state job board, asks for drivers who are at least 21, hold a Class A CDL, get hazmat, tank and doubles/triples endorsements within 90 days, have a safe driving record, hold a DOT medical card or pass a company-paid DOT physical, and pass a DOT drug test with no positive tests or refusals in the last three years. It has no background-check or criminal-record wording.³

• Commercial drivers in DOT-regulated jobs (federal rule)

  Federal rules require a verified negative pre-employment drug test before a CDL driver first performs safety-sensitive work for an employer.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.^11,12,13
• 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."^11,12
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^11,14
• 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.^15,16
• 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).^15,17

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.^11,14,18
• 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.¹⁹
• 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.^20,21

See whether you can clear your record in your state