From GCheck

Clean slate laws seal eligible criminal records from public access once legal conditions are met. For employers, a background check that returned a record last year may return nothing today. This is not because the record is gone, but because the law no longer permits it to be reported.

What Clean Slate Laws Actually Do

First, it is important to realize that clean slate laws do not delete records. Instead, they limit public access so that courts and record systems respond to standard requests as though those records do not exist for reporting. Records may still be kept for law enforcement or licensing boards, but they become invisible to standard employment background checks.

As a result, a clean report increasingly means "no legally reportable public record located," not "this person has no criminal history." The backward reach of these laws makes this more complex: records legally available in prior years can become sealed in later phases. Separately, many states also ban the use of arrest records that did not result in guilty verdicts, a distinct rule that applies regardless of sealing status.

The Illinois Clean Slate Act: A Warning Shot

Governor JB Pritzker signed the Illinois Clean Slate Act on January 16, 2026, with automated sealing going live January 1, 2029. More than 1.7 million Illinois adults are estimated to be eligible for automatic sealing of non-violent records. The law applies to past records, and private employers and standard screening vendors will not have access to sealed records. In addition, HR teams with candidate pools or employees in Illinois should begin planning now. To that end, confirm qualifying offense categories with legal counsel.

A National Trend, Not a Regional One

At least 13 states plus Washington, D.C. have enacted automatic sealing systems, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, Virginia, California, Colorado, and Minnesota. A federal Clean Slate Act was introduced in the 119th Congress in 2025. Even employers in states without such laws, Georgia among them, are affected if they hire from states that have them. In short, this is a present reality, not a future risk to monitor.

Furthermore, employers using vendors with outdated cached data risk receiving results that no longer reflect the legal record. Under FCRA Section 1681e(b), stale compiled data may not

meet the maximum possible accuracy standard, exposing both the vendor and the employer to legal review.

FCRA Obligations When Records Are Sealed

CRAs must not report sealed or cleared records. When a consumer report informs an adverse action decision, the FCRA requires a three-step process: provide a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and FCRA Summary of Consumer Rights; allow at least five business days to review and dispute; then issue a final adverse action notice if proceeding. These duties apply regardless of what a report shows. A blank result does not reduce the requirements.

What HR Teams Should Update Now

1. Update policy language. Replace "no record found" with "no legally reportable record located" and document that a clean result does not confirm the absence of criminal history.
2. Build case-by-case review steps. Per EEOC guidance, evaluate any criminal history that can be reported on the nature and gravity of the offense, time elapsed, and direct link to the specific job duties. Document each review in the applicant file.
3. Segment roles by risk level. Certain regulated roles in healthcare, financial services, and childcare may access records through authorized fingerprint-based channels even when sealed from standard checks. Confirm the relevant methods with legal counsel.
4. Complete the FCRA adverse action process for every result that can be reported. Do not permit ATS automation to skip any step.
5. Retrain recruiters and hiring managers on what a clean result legally means, what case-by-case review requires, and how to route flagged reports correctly.
6. Review ATS workflows. Automated rejection based solely on a record flag, without case-by-case review, may violate FCRA, EEOC guidance, and relevant fair chance laws. Route any flagged report to a qualified human reviewer before adverse action is started.
7. Prohibit informal record searches. Source all background check information only through FCRA-compliant consumer reporting agencies. Side-channel methods create significant legal and fairness exposure. 8. Confirm vendor compliance posture. Compliance-grade platforms such as GCheck are building workflows to track state-level reporting restrictions and keep results legally current as Clean Slate timelines advance. Confirm in writing that your vendor can show how sealed records are identified and blocked.
8. Put lawful data disposal practices in place. Under the FCRA Disposal Rule (16 CFR Part 682), consumer report information must be disposed of securely when no longer needed. In states such as California (CPRA), Colorado (CPA), and Virginia (VCDPA), evaluate whether screening data triggers additional handling duties.

Safety-Sensitive Roles

Clean slate systems do not eliminate careful hiring decisions. Most laws carve out serious offense categories that remain reportable, including violent felonies, sex offenses, and domestic violence offenses, though treatment of DUI and drug felonies varies by state. Positions regulated by agencies such as the DOT, NRC, or FDIC may still access specific records through authorized fingerprint-based channels. On one hand, employers should not assume that a blank standard check means no authorized check exists. On the other hand, they should not assume fingerprint-based access is available for every role.

Disclaimer: This article provides general informational guidance and does not constitute legal advice. Employers should consult qualified legal counsel to evaluate their duties under relevant federal, state, and local laws.

 

About GCHeck

GCheck is a modern, hire-to-retire screening platform dedicated to Compliance for Good™, helping organizations hire and retain with speed, accuracy, and fairness. We operate across the entire employee lifecycle, delivering background checks, identity verification, drug testing, continuous monitoring, and compliance management through one unified platform. Our Compliance for Good™ framework is built on three pillars: transparent compliance, fair compliance, and protective compliance, ensuring every screening decision upholds dignity, reduces risk, and strengthens trust. GCheck serves enterprise HR teams, healthcare organizations, nonprofits, and regulated industries that need more than a fast check; they need a compliant, ethical, and audit-ready screening partner. Learn more at gcheck.com.