New Jersey Background Check Laws for Employers (2026)
New Jersey layers its own Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Opportunity to Compete Act, a salary-history ban, a pay-transparency law, the CREAMMA cannabis rules and detailed guidance on algorithmic discrimination on top of the federal FCRA. Two of those rules are stricter than the federal law they resemble.
This guide covers each rule, names the agency behind it, and shows where a New Jersey screening policy usually goes wrong.
New Jersey Background Check Laws at a Glance
Three agencies share the work. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development enforces the hiring-process statutes, the Division on Civil Rights enforces the Law Against Discrimination, and the federal agencies enforce the FCRA alongside private suits under the state act.
The table below maps each New Jersey rule to the agency that administers it.
| Topic | Statute or Regulation | What It Does | Administered By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Consumer reports (federal) | Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. | Requires a stand-alone disclosure, written authorization, pre-adverse and adverse-action notices, and a seven-year limit on reported non-convictions below $75,000. | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Federal Trade Commission; private suits |
| Consumer reports (state) | New Jersey Fair Credit Reporting Act, N.J.S.A. 56:11-28 to 56:11-41 | Parallels the federal act on permissible purposes, the stand-alone employment disclosure (§ 56:11-31(c)) and the pre-adverse action copy (§ 56:11-31(e)); § 56:11-33 requires disclosure of the precise nature and scope of an investigative report and written permission before the request reaches the agency. | New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs (§ 56:11-41); private suits (§ 56:11-38) |
| State criminal records | N.J.A.C. 13:59-1.2; SBI 212B name check | State Police releases a name-based check with the applicant’s online approval, and fingerprint results with consent; convictions sit in Superior Court and roughly 500 municipal courts. | New Jersey State Police, State Bureau of Identification; New Jersey Judiciary |
| Fair chance / ban the box | Opportunity to Compete Act, N.J.S.A. 34:6B-11 to 34:6B-19 | Employers with 15 or more employees may not ask about criminal history, including expunged records, during the initial application process, which ends after the first interview; no ads excluding people with records. | New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (penalties up to $1,000, $5,000, $10,000; no private right) |
| Sealed and expunged records | N.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 et seq.; N.J.S.A. 34:6B-14 | Expunged records may not be asked about or used; the applicant may deny them. Clean Slate relief comes by petition after ten years. | Superior Court; New Jersey State Police, State Bureau of Identification |
| 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; convictions have no cap. | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Federal Trade Commission |
| Credit reports | No state restriction; FCRA | Requires FCRA consent and adverse action steps for employment credit checks; state bills remain pending. | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; Federal Trade Commission |
| Salary history and pay transparency | N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20 (Jan. 1, 2020); N.J.S.A. 34:6B-23 (June 1, 2025) | Bars screening applicants on salary history; employers with 10 or more employees must include pay ranges and a benefits description in every posting. | New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development |
| Drug and marijuana testing | N.J.S.A. 24:6I-52 (CREAMMA); N.J.S.A. 24:6I-6.1 (medical) | No adverse action solely for off-duty cannabis use or a positive metabolite test; a positive test must be paired with a physical evaluation or documented impairment. | Cannabis Regulatory Commission (rules); courts (Sanders v. The Levari Group, 2026) |
| Application questions | N.J. Stat. § 10:5-12(c) (Law Against Discrimination) | Bars any application form or pre-employment inquiry that expresses a limitation or discrimination on a protected trait, absent a bona fide occupational qualification. | New Jersey Division on Civil Rights; private suits |
| Automated hiring tools | N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq.; DCR guidance of January 9, 2025 | Applies the Law Against Discrimination to algorithmic decision-making tools, disparate treatment and disparate impact alike, with employer liability for vendor tools. | New Jersey Division on 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 | N.J.S.A. 34:6B-5 et seq. | Employers may not request usernames or passwords to personal accounts or retaliate against a refusal. | New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (penalties up to $1,000 and $2,500 under § 34:6B-9) |
| Driving records | Driver Privacy Protection Act, N.J.S.A. 39:2-3.4 | Driver records may be released only for the permitted uses in subsection (c), including employer verification for commercial drivers and the driver’s notarized written consent. | New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission |
| Occupational licensing | Rehabilitated Convicted Offenders Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-1 et seq. | Bars a licensing authority from disqualifying an applicant for a conviction unless it relates adversely to the occupation. | State licensing boards |
How the FCRA Applies to New Jersey Employers
The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act governs every background check a consumer reporting agency prepares for a New Jersey employer. The state rules on this page sit on top of it, never in place of it.
New Jersey also runs its own Fair Credit Reporting Act, and in one respect the state act is stricter. So follow the federal sequence below, then add the state’s investigative-report disclosure.
Clear Disclosure
Give the applicant a clear, stand-alone disclosure that a consumer report may be obtained for employment purposes. Keep the form free of liability waivers and extra language.
Written Authorization
Get written authorization before you order. Then match the search to the position, and apply the same package to every candidate for the same job.
Pre-Adverse Action
Before you decide against a candidate because of the report, send a copy of the report and the CFPB Summary of Your Rights. Then wait a reasonable period, commonly five business days, so the candidate can dispute errors.
Adverse Action Notice
If you proceed, send the final notice naming the screening company and stating that it did not make the decision. Explain the right to a free file copy within 60 days and the right to dispute.
Where the New Jersey FCRA Is Stricter
N.J.S.A. 56:11-28 through 56:11-41 largely tracks the federal act: permissible purposes, accuracy duties, the stand-alone disclosure and authorization in § 56:11-31(c), and the pre-adverse action copy of the report in § 56:11-31(e). It has no reporting-limit section of its own, so the seven-year limit comes from the federal statute.
Where the federal act lets an employer disclose an investigative consumer report within three days after requesting it, § 56:11-33 requires more. The employer must disclose the precise nature and scope of the investigation and hold written permission before the request reaches the agency.
Reference interviews and character inquiries are investigative reports, so the timing matters. Under § 56:11-34, a consumer may also obtain the full file, including every person who procured a report for employment purposes during the prior two years.
The Division of Consumer Affairs enforces the act under § 56:11-41. Section 56:11-38 lets consumers sue for actual damages, statutory damages of $100 to $1,000 for willful violations, punitive damages and fees.
New Jersey Criminal Records: Superior Court and Municipal Courts
New Jersey keeps criminal convictions on two levels. Indictable offenses (first through fourth degree) are tried in the Superior Court Law Division in 21 counties.
Disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses, which are still criminal convictions, are tried in roughly 500 municipal courts. They never reach Superior Court records, and cases also move between the levels through downgrades and remands.
As a result, a search that reads only one level is a false clear. The New Jersey Judiciary administers both court systems.
Disorderly Persons Offenses
A disorderly persons conviction is a criminal conviction under New Jersey law, held in municipal court. It may be reported and considered like any conviction, and most employers miss it when they search Superior Court alone.
The BCS Statewide Search
BCS Background Screening LLC runs a real-time New Jersey statewide criminal search of Superior Court records across all 21 counties and the municipal courts that hold disorderly persons convictions. The search costs $20 per name, and every record is reviewed before release.
A county criminal court search, $18 plus any court fees, confirms a database hit at the courthouse before it reaches a report.
How Far Back a New Jersey Background Check Can Go
New Jersey’s Fair Credit Reporting Act has no reporting-limit section of its own. So the federal FCRA in 15 U.S.C. § 1681c sets the outer limits, and your written policy decides how much of the window you use.
Non-Convictions (Federal)
Arrests and other adverse items that did not end in conviction may not be reported more than seven years after they occurred. Bankruptcies are limited to ten years.
Convictions (Federal)
The FCRA places no age limit on reported convictions. Most employers adopt a seven- or ten-year policy window by position class.
Salary Exemption (Federal)
For positions expected to pay $75,000 or more, the seven-year limit on non-convictions does not apply.
Expunged Records
Under N.J.S.A. 34:6B-14, expunged records may not be reported, asked about or considered at any age.
Set the lookback in your written policy by position class. Then order the same scope for every candidate in that class.
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.
Which New Jersey Records You May and May Not Use
Sealed, Expunged and Set-Aside Records
N.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 et seq. lets a person petition the Superior Court to expunge most offenses after waiting periods. Clean Slate expungement clears an entire record by petition ten years after the most recent conviction, and some offenses qualify after three to five years.
The Clean Slate law enacted in 2019 also called for automatic sealing, but that system awaits implementation. So, for now, relief in New Jersey remains petition-based.
Employers may not ask about or consider expunged records under N.J.S.A. 34:6B-14, and the applicant may deny them. Section 34:6B-14(c) also bars refusing to hire on the basis of a record erased through executive pardon.
Never penalize a candidate for leaving an expunged New Jersey record off an application. The statute gives the applicant the right to deny it, and acting on one invites both an Opportunity to Compete Act penalty and an FCRA accuracy dispute.
Arrests and Non-Convictions
No New Jersey statute bars considering pending charges after the first interview. However, an arrest that ended without conviction should not drive a decision, and the federal FCRA limits reported non-convictions to seven years below $75,000.
Expunged arrests may not be asked about at any stage. Always confirm the final disposition before you act.
Pretrial Intervention and Conditional Discharge
Completion of PTI or a conditional discharge ends in dismissal, and the record is typically expunged six months later. It appears only while the case is open, so read the outcome before acting.
Juvenile Records
Juvenile adjudications are confidential under N.J.S.A. 2A:4A-60. They are not available for private employment screening.
The Opportunity to Compete Act: 15 or More Employees
Yes, New Jersey has a ban-the-box law. The Opportunity to Compete Act, N.J.S.A. 34:6B-11 et seq., effective March 1, 2015, covers private and public employers with 15 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks.
What Is Prohibited
Covered employers may not make any oral or written inquiry about an applicant’s criminal record during the initial employment application process. That process runs from the first contact until the employer has conducted a first interview.
Ads stating that people with criminal records will not be considered are also barred. The 2017 amendment (P.L. 2017, c. 243) added expunged records to the inquiry ban.
What Is Allowed
After the first interview, employers may ask about and consider criminal history, except expunged records. The Act does not require a conditional offer, an individualized assessment or a waiting period.
If the applicant volunteers the information during the application process, the employer may ask about it. Even so, apply the same timing to every candidate for the same position.
Exemptions and Enforcement
Law enforcement, corrections, the judiciary, homeland security and emergency management positions are exempt. So are positions where a law requires a check or bars people with certain convictions, programs designed to employ people with records, and businesses whose activities a law restricts for people with records.
The Department of Labor and Workforce Development enforces the Act under § 34:6B-19 with penalties of up to $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000 for first, second and later violations. Section 34:6B-18 rules out a private right of action.
Local Ordinances
New Jersey has no local fair-chance ordinances in force. Section 34:6B-17 preempts municipal and county rules on the subject, so one statewide standard applies.
Federal Contractors
Federal contractors also 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.
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.
What a New Jersey Job Application May Ask
New Jersey regulates the application form directly. N.J. Stat. § 10:5-12(c), part of the Law Against Discrimination, applies to every employer regardless of size.
It makes it unlawful to use any application form, or to make any inquiry in connection with prospective employment, that expresses directly or indirectly any limitation, specification or discrimination on a protected trait. The listed traits are race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union status, domestic partnership status, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, pregnancy or breastfeeding, sex, and liability for service in the Armed Forces.
The only exception is a bona fide occupational qualification. The Division on Civil Rights enforces the statute, and the four federal limits below apply on top of it.
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 New Jersey lists age in § 10:5-12(c).
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
New Jersey has no statute restricting employer credit checks. Bills to add one have been introduced repeatedly without passing, so the federal and state FCRA steps apply.
Limit credit checks to positions with financial responsibility. That practice lowers disparate-impact risk under Title VII and the Law Against Discrimination.
Salary History and Pay Transparency
N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20, effective January 1, 2020, bars employers from screening applicants on salary history, including prior wages, salary or benefits. Employers also may not require that salary history satisfy any minimum or maximum.
An applicant may volunteer the information, and the employer may then verify it. Employers may confirm prior pay after an offer that includes compensation terms.
The Pay Transparency Act, N.J.S.A. 34:6B-23, took effect June 1, 2025. Employers with 10 or more employees over 20 calendar weeks must include the hourly wage or salary, or a range, and a general description of benefits in every posting.
Employers must also make reasonable efforts to announce promotion opportunities to current employees in the affected department. Penalties are $300 for a first violation and $600 for later ones; salary-history violations carry penalties of $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000.
Employment verifications routinely ask a prior employer for salary. So strike that field from every New Jersey verification template, and set offers from the range you posted.
Drug and Marijuana Testing
N.J.S.A. 24:6I-52, part of CREAMMA, took effect February 22, 2021. It bars employers from refusing to hire, discharging or taking adverse action solely because a person uses cannabis off duty or tests positive for cannabis metabolites.
Employers may still bar use and possession at work and may act on impairment during work hours. However, a positive test must be paired with a physical evaluation or documented signs of impairment before action.
The statute contemplates a physical evaluation by a Workplace Impairment Recognition Expert, or a documented observation of impairment, alongside the test. The Cannabis Regulatory Commission issued interim guidance in 2022 allowing employers to use a reasonable-suspicion observation report pending WIRE standards.
Employers may act where compliance would cost a federal contract or federal funding, and DOT-regulated positions follow 49 C.F.R. Part 40. Medical patients are separately protected from adverse action based on status under N.J.S.A. 24:6I-6.1.
The courts are split on enforcement. In Zanetich v. Wal-Mart Stores East, Inc. (3d Cir. Dec. 9, 2024), the Third Circuit held CREAMMA creates no private right of action for rejected applicants.
In Sanders v. The Levari Group, LLC (N.J. App. Div. May 26, 2026), the Appellate Division held that it implicitly does, declining to follow the federal reading. Plaintiffs now file in state court, so an employer that rejects candidates on a positive THC test alone is exposed.
Drop THC from pre-employment panels for non-safety, non-federal positions, or keep it and act only on a documented impairment finding. Adopt a written reasonable-suspicion observation protocol and train the observers.
Motor Vehicle Records
N.J.S.A. 39:2-3.4, the New Jersey Driver Privacy Protection Act, lets the Motor Vehicle Commission release driver history only for the permitted uses listed in subsection (c). Those uses include employer verification of commercial drivers and the driver’s notarized written consent, requested on Form DO-21 with the consent form.
A certified complete driver history abstract costs $15. BCS Background Screening LLC pulls these reports through its motor vehicle records search.
E-Verify and Form I-9
New Jersey has no E-Verify mandate for private or public employers. Enrollment is voluntary at e-verify.gov, except for federal contractors with the FAR clause at 48 C.F.R. 52.222-54.
Form I-9 remains mandatory for every 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
N.J.S.A. 34:6B-5 et seq. bars employers from requiring or requesting a username or password to a personal account, and from retaliating against a refusal. Publicly available content may be viewed.
The Department of Labor and Workforce Development enforces under § 34:6B-9. Penalties run up to $1,000 for a first violation and $2,500 for each later one.
Automated and AI Hiring Tools
New Jersey has no AI hiring statute. However, on January 9, 2025 the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights issued guidance applying the Law Against Discrimination to automated decision-making tools used in hiring and promotion.
Three points matter. Intent is not required, so both disparate treatment and disparate impact apply; the employer stays liable when a vendor supplies the tool; and a tool that screens on a proxy for a protected trait can violate the LAD.
Inventory every automated screen in your process, including resume rankers and assessment scores. Test each for adverse impact, keep the results, keep a human decision-maker who can override the tool, and ask vendors for their validation studies in writing.
Complaints go to the Division on Civil Rights within 180 days, or to Superior Court within two years. Compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees are available.
Licensed Occupations
The Rehabilitated Convicted Offenders Act, N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-1 et seq., bars a licensing authority from disqualifying an applicant for a conviction unless it relates adversely to the occupation, after weighing listed factors. Employers of licensed staff should mirror that analysis.
Reference Checks
New Jersey has no reference-immunity statute. Confirm dates, title and eligibility for rehire, strike the salary field, and document the answer.
New Jersey Industry-Specific Screening Requirements
Several New Jersey industries require fingerprint-based checks by law. Those rules sit outside the Opportunity to Compete Act, which exempts law-required checks. Below are the rules employers ask about most.
Healthcare and Long-Term Care
Nurse aides, home health aides and other direct-care staff must clear fingerprint-based State Police and FBI checks under N.J.S.A. 26:2H-83 et seq., administered by the Department of Health. Home care agencies also check the Board of Nursing registry.
Child Care
Child care center staff must clear fingerprint-based criminal history checks under N.J.S.A. 30:5B-6.11 and a Child Abuse Record Information check. The Department of Children and Families administers both.
Public Schools
School employees and contractors with student contact must clear fingerprint-based criminal history review under N.J.S.A. 18A:6-7.1, administered by the Department of Education. Listed convictions disqualify.
Private Security
Security officers register under the Security Officer Registration Act, N.J.S.A. 45:19A-1 et seq. The State Police runs the fingerprint checks.
Casinos and Cannabis
Casino employees are licensed or registered by the Division of Gaming Enforcement under N.J.S.A. 5:12-1 et seq. Cannabis business employees are checked by the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.
Transportation and Finance
CDL drivers follow FMCSA rules, including the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse and 49 C.F.R. Part 40, and CREAMMA yields to them. Banks follow FDIC Section 19; broker-dealers follow FINRA Rule 3110.
What Changed for New Jersey Employers in 2026
New Jersey added a pay-transparency duty in 2025 and a state-court path for cannabis claims in 2026. Three federal changes also affect how New Jersey employers screen this year.
Sanders v. The Levari Group opens state court to CREAMMA claims
In Sanders v. The Levari Group, LLC (N.J. App. Div. May 26, 2026), an opinion approved for publication, the Appellate Division held that N.J.S.A. 24:6I-52 implicitly creates a private right of action for rejected applicants.
The decision disagrees with Zanetich v. Wal-Mart (3d Cir. 2024), which found no private right of action. Applicants can now sue in New Jersey state court.
What to do: Stop rejecting candidates on a positive THC test alone. Pair any positive result with a physical evaluation or a documented reasonable-suspicion observation, or drop THC from the panel for non-safety, non-federal positions.
Source: N.J.S.A. 24:6I-52; Sanders v. The Levari Group, LLC (N.J. App. Div. May 26, 2026). Read the law
Pay Transparency Act requires pay ranges in every posting
N.J.S.A. 34:6B-23 took effect June 1, 2025. Employers with 10 or more employees must include the hourly wage or salary, or a range, and a general description of benefits in every job posting.
Employers must also make reasonable efforts to announce promotion opportunities to current employees in the affected department. Penalties are $300 for a first violation and $600 for later ones.
What to do: Add the pay range and a benefits statement to every posting, including third-party job boards. Keep salary-history questions off every form and verification template under N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20.
Source: N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20; N.J.S.A. 34:6B-23. Read the law
Division on Civil Rights applies the LAD to AI hiring tools
The Division on Civil Rights issued guidance on January 9, 2025 applying the Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq., to automated decision-making tools. Intent is not required, and the employer stays liable for a vendor-supplied tool.
The guidance creates no new law; it explains how existing law applies. Complaints go to the Division on Civil Rights or Superior Court.
What to do: Inventory every automated screen, test each for adverse impact, keep a human decision-maker who can override the tool, and get vendor validation studies in writing.
Source: New Jersey Division on Civil Rights guidance, Jan. 9, 2025. Read the guidance
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. For every other New Jersey role, CREAMMA still requires an impairment finding before you act.
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
New Jersey Employment Screening Services
BCS Background Screening LLC runs FCRA-compliant searches for New Jersey employers of every size, with no setup fee and per-search pricing. Every search covers both court levels where convictions live.
New Jersey Statewide Criminal Search
Real-time search of Superior Court records across all 21 counties and the municipal courts that hold disorderly persons convictions. Price: $20 per name, every record reviewed before release.
County Criminal Court Search
Direct research at the county courthouse, seven-year standard scope. Price: $18 plus any court fees.
SSN Trace
Included at no extra cost in every search package. Reveals 10-plus years of reported address history to point criminal searches at the right counties.
Nationwide Criminal Database
$17 locator search of thousands of court, corrections and registry sources with three name variations at once. Every hit is verified at the source before it is reported.
Federal Criminal Search
Covers the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey for federal offenses that never appear in state court records.
Motor Vehicle Records
New Jersey driver history abstracts for any position that drives on company business, with CDL and DOT-regulated roles supported.
Verifications and Add-ons
Employment, education, professional license and reference verifications, FACIS® healthcare sanction screening, and employment credit reports for positions with financial responsibility.
New Jersey Employer Compliance Checklist
- Use a stand-alone FCRA disclosure and a separate written authorization for every candidate.
- For investigative reports, disclose the precise nature and scope and hold written permission before the request goes to the agency.
- With 15 or more employees, remove every criminal-history question until after the first interview, and never ask about expunged records.
- Strip sex, marital status, religion, citizenship and photograph questions from the application under N.J. Stat. § 10:5-12(c).
- Collect the date of birth on the FCRA authorization after the conditional offer, never on the application.
- Delete salary-history questions from every form, script and verification template, and put the pay range in every posting at 10 or more employees.
- Do not act on a positive cannabis test alone; pair it with a documented impairment finding, or drop THC from the panel.
- Order a search that covers both Superior Court and the municipal courts.
- Keep non-convictions within seven years below $75,000, and set a written policy window for convictions.
- Inventory automated screening tools, test them for adverse impact, and keep a human decision-maker.
- Send the pre-adverse action package, wait a reasonable period, then send the final adverse-action notice.
New Jersey Employment Screening Law FAQs
What is New Jersey’s equivalent to the federal FCRA?
The New Jersey Fair Credit Reporting Act, N.J.S.A. 56:11-28 through 56:11-41, enforced by the Division of Consumer Affairs and through private suits. It tracks the federal act on permissible purposes, accuracy, the stand-alone disclosure and authorization, and the pre-adverse action copy of the report (§ 56:11-31).
It is stricter on investigative consumer reports. Section 56:11-33 requires the employer to disclose the precise nature and scope of the investigation and to hold written permission before the request reaches the agency. It has no reporting-limit section; the seven-year rule is federal.
Does New Jersey have a ban-the-box law?
Yes. The Opportunity to Compete Act, N.J.S.A. 34:6B-11 et seq., effective March 1, 2015, bars employers with 15 or more employees from asking about criminal history, including expunged records, during the initial employment application process, which ends after the first interview. It also bars ads excluding people with records, and no conditional offer is required.
Law enforcement, corrections, judiciary, homeland security, emergency management and law-required-check positions are exempt. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development enforces it with penalties of up to $1,000, $5,000 and $10,000; there is no private right of action.
What may a New Jersey employer ask on a job application?
N.J. Stat. § 10:5-12(c) bars any employer, regardless of size, from using an application form or pre-employment inquiry that expresses a limitation or discrimination as to race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, civil union or domestic partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, nationality, pregnancy or breastfeeding, sex, or military service liability. A bona fide occupational qualification is the only exception, and the Division on Civil Rights enforces it.
Title VII, the ADEA, the ADA and the INA add the federal limits. Collect the date of birth on the FCRA authorization after the conditional offer, not on the application.
Can New Jersey employers ask about salary history?
No. N.J.S.A. 34:6B-20, effective January 1, 2020, bars screening applicants on salary history or requiring it to satisfy a minimum or maximum. An applicant may volunteer it, and the employer may confirm prior pay after an offer with compensation terms.
Since June 1, 2025 the Pay Transparency Act, N.J.S.A. 34:6B-23, also requires employers with 10 or more employees to include the pay range and a benefits description in every posting. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development enforces both, with penalties of $1,000 to $10,000 for salary-history violations and $300 to $600 for posting violations.
Can a New Jersey employer reject an applicant who tests positive for cannabis?
Not on the test alone. N.J.S.A. 24:6I-52 (CREAMMA), effective February 22, 2021, bars adverse action solely because a person uses cannabis off duty or tests positive for cannabis metabolites; the test must be paired with a physical evaluation or documented signs of impairment. Exceptions cover federal contracts and funding and DOT-regulated positions, and medical patients are protected under N.J.S.A. 24:6I-6.1.
The Cannabis Regulatory Commission issues the rules. After Sanders v. The Levari Group (App. Div. May 26, 2026), applicants may sue in state court despite the Third Circuit’s contrary reading in Zanetich v. Wal-Mart (2024).
Does New Jersey regulate AI in hiring?
Through existing law. On January 9, 2025 the Division on Civil Rights issued guidance applying the Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq., to automated decision-making tools. Intent is not required, disparate treatment and disparate impact both apply, and the employer remains liable for a vendor-supplied tool.
Complaints go to the Division on Civil Rights or Superior Court. Test every automated screen for adverse impact and keep a human decision-maker.
How many years back can a New Jersey background check go?
Seven years for non-convictions under the federal FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, for positions paying under $75,000; ten years for bankruptcies; no limit on convictions. The New Jersey FCRA has no reporting-limit section of its own.
Expunged records under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 et seq., including Clean Slate expungements granted by petition after ten years, may not be reported or asked about at any age. The Division of Consumer Affairs, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission enforce the reporting rules.
Why does a New Jersey criminal search need both Superior Court and municipal courts?
Because New Jersey keeps criminal convictions on two levels. Indictable offenses (first through fourth degree) are tried in the Superior Court Law Division in 21 counties, while disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses, which are still criminal convictions, are tried in roughly 500 municipal courts and never appear in Superior Court records.
Cases also move between the levels through downgrades and remands, so a search of one level reads as a false clear. The New Jersey Judiciary administers both court systems.
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This page provides general information about New Jersey background check laws, not legal advice. Laws change often, so consult an employment attorney before you finalize a screening policy. Revised October 29, 2026.