When and how criminal history may factor into your hiring decisions

If you regularly hire people who make home deliveries or have some other type of direct customer interaction, you probably have numerous questions about safety and whether you can use prehire criminal background checks in the hiring process. In Michigan, employers may inquire into whether job applicants have been convicted of misdemeanors or felonies, but the results of such an inquiry generally cannot independently justify the rejection of an applicant.

Considering someone's criminal history inherently implicates the biases of a criminal justice system that disproportionately affects communities of color. Consequently, you must assess whether including a criminal background check in your application process—and, ultimately, in your hiring decisions—complies with or contravenes the protections guaranteed by Title VII and Michigan's equivalent, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act (ELCRA).

Law forbids disparate treatment and impact

Employers must ensure that job applicants and employees receive equal treatment, without regard for any of the protected classes under Title VII and the ELCRA—i.e., weight, height, race, color, religion, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty status, and veteran status.

Title VII seeks to prevent disparate treatment in employment decisions as well as the disparate impact of employment policies. For example: