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alize151 · Sep 7, 2010, 11:05 AM

excon · Sep 7, 2010, 11:23 AM

Hello again, a:

Once is enough. A company doing a background check can report ANYTHING they turn up NO MATTER WHEN it happened. Where you live has NOTHING to do with that.

excon

twinkiedooter · Sep 7, 2010, 11:51 AM

Depending on just who is doing the background check and for what kind of job they can go back to the time you were born. If for instance you applied to the FBI to work there or the Social Security Office - they would do a really thorough background check on you which could involve interviewing your grade school teachers!!

cjarosek · Apr 4, 2013, 12:45 PM

Texas law dictates that potential employers can only go back 7 years on a background check. The only exception to the rule is if the job you are applying for has an annual salary of $75,000 or more or if applying for a government job that requires security clearence. I am a Texas excon.

excon · Apr 6, 2013, 05:44 AM

Hello again,

I been thinking about that... It's difficult for me to believe that Texas can be SOOO hard on criminals, yet protect their criminal records from potential employers...

Makes NO sense to me.. NONE!

excon

AK lawyer · Apr 6, 2013, 06:02 AM

Originally Posted by excon

Hello again,

I been thinking about that... It's difficult for me to believe that Texas can be SOOO hard on criminals, yet protect their criminal records from potential employers...

Makes NO sense to me.. NONE!

excon

I too found it hard to believe. But Texas has no choice. The Texas statute mirrors Federal law (the Fair Credit Reporting Act):

"15 USC § 1681c - Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports
(a) Information excluded from consumer reports
Except as authorized under subsection (b) of this section, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information:
...
(5)Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years.
...
(b) Exempted cases
The provisions of paragraphs (1) through (5) of subsection (a) of this section are not applicable in the case of any consumer credit report to be used in connection with—
...
(3)the employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal $75,000, or more. " 15 USC § 1681c - Requirements relating to information contained in consumer reports | Title 15 - Commerce and Trade | U.S. Code | LII / Legal Information Institute

So Cjarosek is correct, with one exception. That's the law in Texas (as well as the rest of the U.S. as set out above).

The exception is this: There is nothing stopping a potential employer from doing it's own background check. The Fair Credit Reporting Act only replies to reports prepared by consumer reporting agencies.

The pertinent Texas law is as follows:

"Sec. 20.01. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
...
(2) "Consumer" means an individual who resides in this state.
...
(4) "Consumer report" means a communication or other information by a consumer reporting agency relating to the credit worthiness, credit standing, credit capacity, debts, character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living of a consumer that is used or expected to be used or collected, wholly or partly, as a factor in establishing the consumer's eligibility for credit or insurance for personal, family, or household purposes, employment purposes, or other purpose authorized under Sections 603 and 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Sections 1681a and 1681b), as amended. The term does not include:
...
(5) "Consumer reporting agency" means a person that regularly engages wholly or partly in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or other information on consumers to furnish consumer reports to third parties for monetary fees, for dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis.
..."

"Sec. 20.05. REPORTING OF INFORMATION PROHIBITED.
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a consumer reporting agency may not furnish a consumer report containing information related to:

(1) a case under Title 11 of the United States Code or under the federal Bankruptcy Act in which the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication predates the consumer report by more than 10 years;
(2) a suit or judgment in which the date of entry predates the consumer report by more than seven years or the governing statute of limitations, whichever is longer;
(3) a tax lien in which the date of payment predates the consumer report by more than seven years;
(4) a record of arrest, indictment, or conviction of a crime in which the date of disposition, release, or parole predates the consumer report by more than seven years; or
(5) another item or event that predates the consumer report by more than seven years.

(b) A consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report that contains information described by Subsection (a) if the information is provided in connection with:

(1) a credit transaction with a principal amount that is or may reasonably be expected to be $150,000 or more;
(2) the underwriting of life insurance for a face amount that is or may reasonably be expected to be $150,000 or more; or
(3) the employment of a consumer at an annual salary that is or may reasonably be expected to be $75,000 or more.

(b-1) A consumer reporting agency may furnish to a person a consumer report that contains information described by Subsection (a) if the information is needed by the person to avoid a violation of 18 U.S.C. Section 1033." BUSINESS AND COMMERCE CODE CHAPTER 20. REGULATION OF CONSUMER CREDIT REPORTING AGENCIES

(18 USC § 1033 - Crimes by or affecting persons engaged in the business of insurance whose activities affect interstate commerce)

For OP's benefit, however, the Federal law provides additional protection:

"15 USC § 1681b - Permissible purposes of consumer reports
...
(3) Conditions on use for adverse actions
(A) In general
Except as provided in subparagraph (B), in using a consumer report for employment purposes, before taking any adverse action based in whole or in part on the report, the person intending to take such adverse action shall provide to the consumer to whom the report relates—
(i) a copy of the report; and
(ii) a description in writing of the rights of the consumer under this subchapter, as prescribed by the Bureau under section 1681g(c)(3) [1] of this title." 15 USC § 1681b - Permissible purposes of consumer reports | Title 15 - Commerce and Trade | U.S. Code | LII / Legal Information Institute