Michigan Background Check Laws for Employers (2026)
Michigan gives employers wide latitude on criminal history. Still, several state statutes limit what you may ask, keep, and act on.
This guide from BCS Background Screening LLC names each rule, the agency behind it, and what it means for your hiring file in 2026.
Michigan Background Check Laws at a Glance
Michigan spreads its screening rules across civil rights, criminal procedure, labor, and licensing law. No single chapter holds them, and the state has no mini-FCRA of its own.
The table below names each rule, sums it up, and identifies the agency that administers it. Federal law controls your report content and notices, while Michigan law controls what you may ask, keep, and use.
| Topic | Statute or Regulation | What It Does | Administered By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer reports | Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. (no Michigan equivalent) | Requires a disclosure, written authorization, and adverse action notices. | FTC and CFPB |
| State criminal records | MCL 28.214 | Governs release of state criminal history record information through ICHAT. | Michigan State Police, Criminal Justice Information Center |
| Misdemeanor arrest records | MCL 37.2205a (Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act) | Bars employers from requesting or keeping records of misdemeanor arrests that produced no conviction. | Michigan Department of Civil Rights |
| Fair chance / ban the box | Executive Directive 2018-4 (state departments only); MCL 123.1384 (2018 PA 84) | Delays criminal history questions for state agency hiring and bars local ordinances that regulate private employer inquiries. | Michigan Civil Service Commission; preemption enforced through the courts |
| Sealed and expunged records | MCL 780.621 to 780.624 (Clean Slate) | Sets aside qualifying convictions on application, and automatically since April 11, 2023. | Michigan State Police and the trial courts |
| Lookback limits | No state cap; FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681c | Bars reporting non-convictions older than seven years unless the job pays $75,000 or more. | FTC and CFPB |
| Credit reports | No state restriction; FCRA | Requires FCRA consent and adverse action steps for employment credit checks. | FTC and CFPB |
| Salary history | No state ban; MCL 123.1384 preempts local ordinances | Private employers may ask about prior pay; cities may not forbid the question. | Not applicable |
| Drug and marijuana testing | MCL 333.27954(3) (MRTMA) | Lets employers test, refuse to hire, and discipline for marijuana under their own policies. | Not applicable |
| Application questions | MCL 37.2206(2) (Elliott-Larsen); MCL 37.1206(2) (Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act) | Bars application questions that elicit protected characteristics, at one employee or more. | Michigan Department of Civil Rights |
| E-Verify | No state mandate; Form I-9, 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2 | E-Verify stays voluntary except for federal contractors with the FAR clause. | USCIS |
| Social media | MCL 37.271 to 37.278 (Internet Privacy Protection Act) | Bars employers from demanding access to personal internet and social media accounts. | Enforced by criminal penalty and private civil action |
| Personnel records | MCL 423.501 to 423.512 (Bullard-Plawecki) | Gives employees access to their personnel file and limits off-duty recordkeeping. | Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity |
| Occupational licensing | MCL 338.42 (1974 PA 381) | Limits how licensing boards use convictions to judge good moral character. | Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, plus each board |
| Schools | MCL 380.1230 and 380.1230a | Requires fingerprint criminal history checks for school employees and contractors. | Michigan Department of Education with MSP |
| Health facilities and long-term care | MCL 333.20173a and MCL 330.1134a | Sets disqualifying convictions for health facility and long-term care staff. | Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, Bureau of Community and Health Systems |
| Driving records | MCL 257.208c; Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2721 | Controls release of Michigan driving records for permissible purposes. | Michigan Department of State |
How the FCRA Applies to Michigan Employers
Michigan adds no mini-FCRA of its own. Therefore, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the procedure whenever you use a screening company.
Several guides name the Michigan Identity Theft Protection Act, 2004 PA 452, as the state’s FCRA counterpart. That reading misses the mark, because that act covers data breach notice and identity theft, not consumer reports. Four federal steps carry nearly every compliance claim, so build them into your workflow.
Clear Disclosure
Give a clear written notice that says a consumer report may be obtained. Keep it on its own page, with no waiver or extra text.
Written Authorization
Collect the applicant’s signature before you order. Electronic signatures work, provided the applicant can read the disclosure first.
Pre-Adverse Action
Before you decide, send a copy of the report and the Summary of Rights. Then give the applicant real time to respond.
Adverse Action Notice
Name the screening company, and state that it did not make the decision. Add the dispute rights, since that omission drives most lawsuits.
The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026. Title VII still bars using criminal history as a proxy for race or national origin, and the disparate-impact rule in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k) remains law. So keep weighing the nature of the offense, the time elapsed, and the duties of the job before you act on any record.
Michigan State Police Records, ICHAT, and County Courts
MCL 28.214 governs release of state criminal history record information through ICHAT, the Michigan State Police Internet Criminal History Access Tool. The MSP Criminal Justice Information Center administers that repository.
The state repository itself only holds felonies and misdemeanors punishable by more than 93 days. Consequently, 92-day misdemeanors and local ordinance cases never reach the state file.
Michigan courts also seal juvenile and set-aside files. As a result, no vendor may lawfully sell them, and a compliant report never shows them.
Statewide Search Across All 83 Counties
Our Michigan real-time statewide criminal search runs a name search of the Michigan State Police repository across all 83 counties. It follows the reporting limits on this page automatically.
Every returned record also gets researcher review before it reaches your file. See the product page for pricing and a sample report.
When a County Court Search Still Matters
Direct court research where the applicant lived or worked catches the 92-day misdemeanors and ordinance cases the state file never receives. BCS Background Screening LLC runs a county criminal court search for $18 plus any court fees.
Federal district court cases never reach the Michigan state file either. Add a federal criminal search for finance, healthcare, and interstate roles.
How Far Back a Michigan Background Check May Go
Michigan sets no state cap on reporting criminal convictions. As a result, the federal rule in 15 U.S.C. § 1681c does the work.
Read the four tiers below before you set a policy. Then remember that Title VII discourages acting on very old convictions even when the FCRA permits reporting them.
Arrests and Non-Convictions (Federal)
Arrests and other non-conviction items older than seven years may not be reported under § 1681c(a). The clock runs from the date of entry.
Convictions (Federal)
Federal law dropped the seven-year conviction limit in 1998, and Michigan never replaced it. Convictions may be reported indefinitely under § 1681c(a)(5).
Salary Exemption (Federal)
At that expected annual salary or more, the seven-year limits fall away entirely under § 1681c(b)(3).
Set-Aside and Nonpublic Records
Convictions set aside under Michigan’s Clean Slate laws stay off the report at any salary level.
The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026. Title VII still bars using criminal history as a proxy for race or national origin, and the disparate-impact rule in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k) remains law. So keep weighing the nature of the offense, the time elapsed, and the duties of the job before you act on any record.
Set-Aside Convictions, Misdemeanor Arrests, and Juvenile Records in Michigan
Sealed, Expunged, and Set-Aside Records
Michigan’s Clean Slate package rewrote MCL 780.621 through 780.624. Applications for set-aside expanded in April 2021. Then, on April 11, 2023, automatic set-asides began under MCL 780.621g.
The Michigan State Police run the eligibility check, and the courts enter the orders. No petition and no lawyer are required. Records then become nonpublic, which removes them from ICHAT and from any compliant background report.
| Record Type | Lifetime Limit | Waiting Period | Key Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felonies | Up to two per lifetime | 10 years from sentencing or from release, whichever falls later | Eligible offenses only; automatic since April 11, 2023 |
| Misdemeanors of 93 days or more | Up to four per lifetime | 7 years from the date the sentence was imposed | Eligible offenses only |
| Misdemeanors under 93 days | No numerical cap | 7 years from sentencing | Eligible offenses only |
Assaultive crimes, serious misdemeanors, and crimes of dishonesty stay on the record. Offenses punishable by ten years or more also stay, as do most operating-while-intoxicated convictions. The State Court Administrative Office guidance lists the exclusions in full.
Employer takeaway: never ask about, consider, or store a set-aside conviction, at any salary level. If an applicant volunteers one, document that you disregarded it. In addition, applicants may lawfully deny a set-aside conviction.
Arrests and Non-Convictions
Michigan’s sharpest screening rule sits inside the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. MCL 37.2205a states the ban directly. An employer shall not “request, make, or maintain a record of information regarding a misdemeanor arrest, detention, or disposition where a conviction did not result.”
Read that sentence carefully, because it reaches three separate acts. You may not ask, you may not create the record, and you may not keep a record that arrives on its own.
The statute goes further still. An applicant who omits such an arrest commits no perjury and no false statement. So a “failure to disclose” termination built on a dismissed misdemeanor exposes you twice over.
Two carve-outs exist. Law enforcement agencies, including the Michigan Department of Corrections, fall outside the ban. Felony arrests and pending charges may still be considered, subject to the FCRA seven-year limit on non-convictions.
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights enforces the act, and a private lawsuit remains available too. Even for a felony arrest, confirm the final disposition before you act, because an arrest alone does not prove conduct.
Juvenile Records
Michigan courts seal juvenile files, so they fall outside ICHAT and outside any compliant background report. Never ask an applicant about a juvenile adjudication, and never penalize one for omitting it.
Ban the Box in Michigan: What Actually Binds a Private Employer
Michigan has no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers. The state also requires no individualized assessment, notice, or waiting period before you act on a conviction.
Public hiring works differently. Executive Directive 2018-4, signed by Governor Snyder and effective October 1, 2018, pulled the felony checkbox from state agency applications. State departments now ask about criminal history only after the interview stage.
The 2018 Preemption Law Changes the Local Picture
Many Michigan guides list nine local ban-the-box jurisdictions for private employers. Ann Arbor, Detroit, East Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Ypsilanti, Genesee County, Oakland County, and Muskegon County usually appear. That framing is out of date.
In 2018, Public Act 84 amended the Local Government Labor Regulatory Limitation Act at MCL 123.1384. Local governments may no longer adopt or enforce an ordinance regulating what an employer must request, require, or exclude on an application or in an interview.
The amendment took effect on June 24, 2018, and it covers salary-history questions on the same terms. Therefore, Detroit and other localities apply fair-chance rules only to their own hiring and their contractors.
What a Michigan City May Still Do
- Set hiring rules for its own workforce
- Write screening terms into a contract an employer voluntarily signs
- Require a criminal check tied to a license or permit it issues
What a Michigan City May Not Do
- Order private employers to drop the conviction question
- Dictate when in the process you may ask
- Ban salary-history questions by ordinance
Check your contracts before you relax anything. Detroit and several counties still attach screening terms to municipal contracts, and those terms bind you because you agreed to them.
The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026. Title VII still bars using criminal history as a proxy for race or national origin, and the disparate-impact rule in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k) remains law. So keep weighing the nature of the offense, the time elapsed, and the duties of the job before you act on any record.
Federal Contractors
Federal contractors follow the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act of 2019, 41 U.S.C. § 4714. That law delays criminal history questions until after a conditional offer for positions related to work under covered federal contracts.
What a Michigan Job Application May Ask
Michigan regulates application questions directly. The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.2206(2), covers every employer with one or more employees.
It bars any written or oral inquiry or application form that elicits, or attempts to elicit, information about religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, height, weight, or marital status. You may not make or keep a record of that information either, and no form may express a preference or limitation on those grounds.
The Persons with Disabilities Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.1206(2), applies the same rule to disability. The only exceptions are inquiries permitted by Michigan Civil Rights Commission rules or by federal law, such as EEO-1 and affirmative-action record-keeping. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights enforces both acts.
Federal law then adds the four limits below, which apply to nearly every Michigan employer.
Sex, Marital Status, Religion, and Photographs
Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2, makes sex a lawful question only where it is a bona fide occupational qualification. Almost no job meets that test.
The EEOC treats questions about race, sex, religion, marital status, children, or pregnancy as evidence of intent to discriminate. The EEOC also says employers should not ask for a photograph before hire.
Ask instead: whether the applicant can work the schedule, travel, and overtime the job requires. Request a photograph only after hire for a badge.
Date of Birth and Age
The ADEA protects applicants 40 and older at employers with 20 or more employees. Under 29 C.F.R. § 1625.5, a date-of-birth question is closely scrutinized because it deters older applicants, and MCL 37.2206(2) bars it outright in Michigan.
Your screening company still needs the date of birth to match criminal records. So, collect it on the FCRA authorization form after the conditional offer, never on the application.
Ask instead: “Are you at least 18 (or 21) years old?” where the job has a legal minimum age.
Disability, Health, and Workers’ Compensation
The ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12112(d)(2), bars disability-related inquiries and medical exams before a conditional offer. Questions about health, prescriptions, prior workers’ compensation claims, or sick leave all count.
GINA, 42 U.S.C. § 2000ff-1(b), separately bars requests for family medical history. Post-offer exams must apply to every entering employee in the job category.
Ask instead: whether the applicant can perform the essential functions with or without reasonable accommodation.
Citizenship, National Origin, and Military Discharge
The Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1324b, bars citizenship-status discrimination at employers with four or more employees. Pre-hire questions about birthplace, immigration status, or a “green card” are evidence of a violation.
USERRA, 38 U.S.C. § 4311, protects uniformed service. Do not ask the type of military discharge on an application; ask only after the offer where a law or license requires it.
Ask instead: “Are you legally authorized to work in the United States?” and “Will you need sponsorship for an employment visa?”
EEO self-identification is different. Collect race, ethnicity, sex, veteran, and disability status on a separate, voluntary form kept away from decision-makers. Private employers with 100 or more employees file the EEO-1 report each year under 29 C.F.R. § 1602.7.
Credit Reports, Salary History, Drug Testing and More
Employment Credit Reports
Michigan places no restriction on employment credit checks. Unlike California or Illinois, the state names no job categories and sets no threshold, so federal rules control the whole process.
You need a permissible purpose under the FCRA, plus the same disclosure and authorization you use for criminal searches. Adverse action notices apply equally, and the seven-year rule limits most negative credit items below the $75,000 salary line.
Bankruptcies follow a separate clock at ten years. Use credit only where money duties justify it, and document why the check fits the role.
Salary History and Pay Transparency
No Michigan statute bars private employers from asking about salary history. Moreover, MCL 123.1384 preempts any local ordinance regulating what employers may ask on applications or in interviews.
Many employers still skip the question to reduce Equal Pay Act risk. If you keep it, ask every applicant the same way.
Drug and Marijuana Testing
Michigan regulates private-sector drug testing very lightly. No statute requires a testing policy, and none forbids one. Public employers and safety-sensitive federal roles follow their own rules.
Voters legalized adult recreational use in 2018. Even so, the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, MCL 333.27954(3), does not require any employer to accommodate use. You may test, refuse to hire, and discipline for marijuana under your own policy.
The medical statute reads the same way in practice. In Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 695 F.3d 428 (6th Cir. 2012), the Sixth Circuit held that the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act creates no cause of action against a private employer. Medical registrants therefore have no private-employment protection.
Write the policy down anyway. Tell applicants what you test for and when, because a written policy defeats most later disputes. CDL drivers still follow DOT testing under 49 C.F.R. Part 40.
Motor Vehicle Records
MCL 257.208c and the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 2721, control access to Michigan driving records. The Michigan Department of State releases them for permissible purposes, and employers normally rely on written applicant consent.
Order a Michigan motor vehicle record for delivery, trucking, sales, and CDL positions. Motor carriers also follow 49 C.F.R. § 391.23, which requires MVR and previous-employer inquiries.
E-Verify and Form I-9
Michigan does not mandate E-Verify for private or public employers. E-Verify stays voluntary except for federal contractors with the FAR clause at 48 C.F.R. 52.222-54.
Every employer must still complete Form I-9 for each new hire under 8 C.F.R. § 274a.2. Finish Section 1 by the first day of work and Section 2 within three business days.
Social Media and Passwords
The Internet Privacy Protection Act, 2012 PA 478, sits at MCL 37.271 to 37.278. It bars an employer from requesting access to a personal internet account. Passwords, log-in details, and “shoulder surfing” all fall inside the ban.
You may not ask for credentials, require an applicant to log in and display an account, require a friend or follower connection, or retaliate because the applicant refused. You may still view anything genuinely public, monitor employer-issued accounts and devices, investigate a specific misconduct report, and act on information an employee shares voluntarily.
A violation is a misdemeanor carrying a fine up to $1,000. In addition, the applicant may sue for $1,000 in damages plus costs and reasonable attorney fees, so keep social media out of your screening workflow.
Automated and AI Hiring Tools
Michigan has no statute regulating automated or AI hiring tools. Title VII, the ADA, and the ADEA still apply to any screening tool that creates a disparate impact.
Personnel Records: The Bullard-Plawecki Obligations
The Bullard-Plawecki Employee Right to Know Act, MCL 423.501 to 423.512, governs your file once the applicant becomes an employee. Employees may review the personnel record twice a year, and they may add a written rebuttal to anything disputed.
MCL 423.508 bars you from gathering or keeping records of an employee’s associations, political activities, publications, and non-employment communications. Written employee consent is the only route around it.
MCL 423.507 requires written notice before you divulge a disciplinary report or a formal grievance to a third party. Keep your screening file separate from the general personnel file, since that separation makes a records request far easier to answer.
Protecting Report Data
The Social Security Number Privacy Act, MCL 445.81 to 445.87, limits how you display and store Social Security numbers. Keep background reports in a secure portal and limit who can open them.
Industry Rules That Override the General Michigan Position
Some Michigan sectors carry mandatory checks and fixed disqualifiers. Where a sector statute applies, it beats your internal policy, so check the list below before you write a job-specific standard.
Schools and Contractors
MCL 380.1230 and 380.1230a require a fingerprint criminal history check through the Michigan State Police and the FBI. Districts must run it before employment begins, and unfit-conduct reporting duties follow under MCL 380.1230d.
Health Facilities and Long-Term Care
MCL 333.20173a, MCL 330.1134a, and MCL 400.734b drive the Michigan Workforce Background Check Program. Licensing and Regulatory Affairs runs it for anyone with regular direct access to patients or residents. Roles paid with federal healthcare funds also need an HHS-OIG exclusion check before hire and monthly thereafter.
The Health Care Disqualification Tiers
Bars run permanently for offenses listed at 42 U.S.C. § 1320a-7. Fifteen years applies to violent or abuse-related felonies, and ten years to other felonies. Five years covers theft-type offenses, and three years covers simple assault or possession.
Child Care and Foster Care
Licensed child care and adult foster care providers run fingerprint checks and central registry clearances. Michigan pairs criminal history with abuse and neglect registry results for these roles.
Drivers and Commercial Fleets
MCL 257.208c and the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act control access to Michigan driving records. CDL roles also require DOT drug testing under 49 C.F.R. Part 40, FMCSA Clearinghouse queries before hire and annually, and MVR review under 49 C.F.R. § 391.23.
Financial and Fiduciary Roles
No Michigan statute limits credit checks here, but federal rules still apply. Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. § 1829, bars certain dishonesty convictions from insured institutions absent FDIC consent, with the Fair Hiring in Banking Act exceptions for expunged, sealed, and older offenses.
Licensed Professions
Under 1974 PA 381, MCL 338.41 to 338.47, a board may not treat a conviction by itself as conclusive proof of poor moral character. MCL 338.42 lets a board weigh a felony only where it bears a direct and specific relationship to the licensed activity, presents a demonstrable public safety risk, or raises reoffending or harm risk with the license.
Rehabilitation Evidence for Licensing
Boards must also consider a certificate of employability and evidence of rehabilitation, and applicants may rebut an adverse finding directly. Hiring into a licensed role does not import these limits into your own decision, but they signal how Michigan expects convictions to be weighed.
What Changed for Michigan Employers in 2026
Michigan passed no new screening statute in 2026, and no local fair-chance rule can reach private employers under MCL 123.1384. However, three federal changes affect how Michigan employers screen this year.
EEOC rescinds its 2012 arrest and conviction guidance
The Commission voted on October 28, 2026 to rescind the 2012 Enforcement Guidance on arrest and conviction records, effective immediately. The rescission does not revive the 1987 and 1990 policy statements.
The EEOC says employers need not abandon lawful practices adopted under the rescinded guidance, and it will keep enforcing Title VII. Disparate-impact claims under 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k) remain available to private plaintiffs and under state law.
What to do: Keep the individualized assessment and the written job-related criteria. They come from the courts (Green v. Missouri Pacific) and from state and local fair-chance laws, not from the rescinded guidance.
Source: EEOC press release, Oct. 29, 2026. Read the release
Medical marijuana moved to Schedule III; DOT testing is unchanged
DEA’s final rule of April 28, 2026 moved FDA-approved marijuana drug products and marijuana dispensed under state medical-marijuana licenses to Schedule III. All other marijuana remains Schedule I.
DOT testing is unchanged. 49 C.F.R. Part 40 still tests for marijuana, and DOT’s Office of Drug and Alcohol Policy and Compliance stated in May 2026 that state medical-marijuana use is not a legitimate medical explanation for a positive result under 49 C.F.R. § 40.137.
What to do: Keep testing CDL drivers and other safety-sensitive employees for marijuana under Part 40. Michigan’s MRTMA still lets you test and discipline every other role under your own written policy.
Source: DEA final rule, 91 FR, Doc. 2026-08176; 49 C.F.R. § 40.137. Read DOT’s guidance
OFCCP’s EO 11246 regulations are rescinded; Section 503 and VEVRAA remain
Executive Order 11246 was revoked by Executive Order 14173 on January 21, 2025. OFCCP then rescinded its implementing regulations at 41 C.F.R. parts 60-1 through 60-50 by final rule published August 21, 2026.
The FAR overhaul likewise removed subpart 22.8 and clauses 52.222-21 through 52.222-29. Race- and sex-based affirmative-action plan and recordkeeping duties under EO 11246 no longer apply.
What to do: Keep your Title VII, Section 503 (disability), and VEVRAA (protected veterans) nondiscrimination, affirmative-action, and recordkeeping programs. Those obligations for covered contractors remain in force.
Source: Executive Order 14173, Jan. 21, 2025; OFCCP final rule, Aug. 21, 2026. Read OFCCP’s notice
Michigan Employment Screening Services
Each search below maps to a rule discussed on this page. Order them alone, or bundle them into one package.
Michigan Statewide Criminal Search
A real-time name search of the Michigan State Police repository across all 83 counties. See the product page for pricing and a sample report.
County Criminal Court Search
Direct court research where the applicant lived or worked. It catches 92-day misdemeanors and ordinance cases the state file never receives. Price: $18 plus court fees.
SSN Trace and Address History
Reported names, aliases, and addresses over ten years. Run it first, because it tells you which Michigan counties to search.
Nationwide Criminal Database
A multi-state locator that flags records beyond Michigan. We verify every hit at the source court.
Federal Criminal Search
Federal district court cases never reach the Michigan state file. Add this search for finance, healthcare, and interstate roles.
Motor Vehicle Records
Driving histories for delivery, trucking, sales, and CDL positions, ordered with the applicant’s written consent.
Verifications and Add-ons
Confirm titles, dates, and credentials directly with the source. Verifications carry no Michigan-specific restriction.
FACIS® Healthcare Sanctions
Screens HHS-OIG, SAM.gov, and state licensing sanctions for health facility and long-term care hires.
Michigan Employer Compliance Checklist
- Remove every arrest question from applications and interview scripts under MCL 37.2205a.
- Ask about convictions “that have not been set aside.”
- Remove sex, age, marital status, religion, height, weight, and photograph questions from the application under MCL 37.2206(2).
- Collect the date of birth on the FCRA authorization after the conditional offer, never on the application.
- Use a stand-alone FCRA disclosure with no waiver language, and capture a signed authorization before each order.
- Send pre-adverse action with the report and the Summary of Rights, then allow a real response window.
- Issue an adverse action notice naming the screening company.
- Document an individualized assessment for any conviction-based rejection.
- Keep screening files separate from personnel files under Bullard-Plawecki.
- Re-check sector rules for schools, health care, child care, and drivers.
Michigan Employment Screening Law FAQs
Does Michigan have its own version of the Fair Credit Reporting Act?
No. Michigan enacted no mini-FCRA, so the federal statute at 15 U.S.C. § 1681 controls your reports and notices. The FTC and CFPB enforce it.
The Identity Theft Protection Act, 2004 PA 452, is often miscited as the state equivalent. In fact, it covers data breach notice and identity theft, and the Michigan Attorney General enforces it.
Can a Michigan employer ask about arrests?
Not for misdemeanors that produced no conviction. MCL 37.2205a, part of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, bars you from requesting, making, or maintaining such a record, and applicants may lawfully stay silent about them.
Felony arrests and pending charges may be considered. Law enforcement agencies are exempt, and the Michigan Department of Civil Rights enforces the rule.
How far back can a Michigan criminal background check go?
Michigan sets no state lookback cap on convictions, so they may be reported indefinitely. The FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, blocks arrests and other non-convictions after seven years, and that block lifts at a $75,000 salary.
Convictions set aside under MCL 780.621 to 780.624 may never be reported at any salary. The FTC and CFPB enforce the FCRA limits.
Does Michigan have a ban-the-box law for private employers?
No. Executive Directive 2018-4 removed the conviction checkbox from state agency applications only, effective October 1, 2018. State departments ask about criminal history only after the interview stage.
Public Act 84 of 2018 then amended MCL 123.1384. Since June 24, 2018, local governments may no longer tell private employers what to ask, so Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Kalamazoo ordinances bind you only through a contract you sign with the city or county.
What does Michigan’s Clean Slate law mean for employers?
Automatic set-asides began on April 11, 2023 under MCL 780.621g. Up to two felonies and four misdemeanors may clear per lifetime, after ten years and seven years respectively. The Michigan State Police run the eligibility check, and the courts enter the orders.
Set-aside convictions become nonpublic, leave ICHAT, and may not be considered. Assaultive crimes, crimes of dishonesty, and most drunk-driving convictions never qualify.
What may a Michigan employer ask on a job application?
The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, MCL 37.2206(2), bars every employer from using an application or inquiry that elicits religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, height, weight, or marital status. MCL 37.1206(2) adds disability. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights enforces both.
Federal law adds the ADA, ADEA, and INA limits on medical, age, and citizenship questions. Collect the date of birth on the FCRA authorization after the conditional offer, not on the application.
Can a Michigan employer run credit checks or drug tests?
Yes to both. Michigan restricts neither for private employers. Credit reports still need FCRA disclosure, authorization, and adverse action notices.
Marijuana gives employees no workplace protection either. MCL 333.27954(3) lets you test and discipline under your own policy, and the Sixth Circuit held in Casias v. Wal-Mart Stores that the medical statute creates no claim against a private employer.
How do Michigan employers obtain driving records?
Through the Michigan Department of State, under MCL 257.208c and the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act. You need a permissible purpose, and employers normally rely on the applicant’s signed consent.
BCS Background Screening LLC pulls Michigan motor vehicle records as part of a screening package for driving roles.
Start Screening Michigan Applicants Today
BCS Background Screening LLC builds Michigan packages around the rules on this page. Open an account today, and order your first search in minutes.
Every user account also includes optional Multiple Authentication Factor (MAF) for added login security.
This page provides general information about Michigan background check laws, not legal advice. Laws change often, so consult an employment attorney before you finalize a screening policy. Revised October 29, 2026.