Background checks - Missouri

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

Arrest and conviction record inquiries

Applies to public employers. Executive Order 16-04.

Signed on April 11, 2016, this order required all departments of the Missouri executive branch to remove questions relating to an applicant’s criminal background from initial employment applications. Applications for which people with convictions would be automatically ineligible are exempt.

Missouri has no laws or regulations specifically prohibiting arrest or conviction record inquiries by private employers.

State

Contacts

Employer immunity from disclosure claims

Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations

Arrest record inquiries

Missouri Commission on Human Rights

Conviction record inquiries

Missouri Commission on Human Rights

Regulations

Employer immunity from disclosure claims

Missouri Revised Statute 290.140, Letter of dismissal, when—failure to issue, damages—punitive damages, limitations

Missouri Revised Statute 290.152, Employer response to request for information about current or former employee, contents, requirements, civil immunity, when.

Arrest record inquiries

None.

Conviction record inquiries

None.

Federal

Contacts

Employer immunity from disclosure claims

None.

Arrest record inquiries

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Conviction record inquiries

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Regulations

Employer immunity from disclosure claims

None.

Arrest record inquiries

None; however, EEOC published the enforcement guidance, Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, on April 25, 2012.

Conviction record inquiries

None; however, EEOC published the enforcement guidance, Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, on April 25, 2012.