Review and set Assess Premium rules

Assess helps you adopt predefined fairness and compliance rules that align with best practices and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance for considering criminal records. These rules apply to all records.

Records that searches find in the categories you select have the Eligible status.

Fairness and compliance rules have 4 sections:

Non-convictions

• Assess dismissed charges as Eligible.
  • A dismissed disposition means the record did NOT result in a conviction. This classification covers both certain dismissals and findings of non-guilt. For example, the court dropped the record against the defendant or the defendant was found not guilty or responsible after trial.
  • By assessing dismissed records as Eligible, you can better align your evaluation practices to EEOC enforcement guidance that states the existence of a criminal record alone doesn't mean criminal conduct has occurred.

• Assess non-felony deferred/alternative adjudication records as Eligible.
  • A deferred or alternative adjudication record has NOT resulted in a conviction. In most cases, deferred and alternative adjudications result in some form of court supervision instead of jail time and criminal conviction. After successful completion, a judge often dismisses the records.
  • The entry of an alternative judgment can show that the court believes that the defendant is a good candidate for rehabilitation and might not be a danger to the community. By allowing non-felony dismissed alternative adjudication records, you can demonstrate your practice of giving careful consideration to the gravity of records.

• Assess all pending records as Eligible.
  • Pending records haven't yet received a final verdict. A pending record means that nothing has been officially decided in court, and the prosecutor is still reviewing the record.
  • Under the FCRA, pending records are reportable for up to 7 years. However, some states have passed additional restrictions on both reporting by consumer reporting agencies and use by employers. For example, a state could allow pending felony records to appear but not a pending misdemeanor record.

Charge severity & timing

• Assess records with less-than-misdemeanor severity as Eligible.
  • These lowest-level-severity records, such as infractions, can include both convictions and non-convictions. These records typically receive only fines as punishment.
  • Where reportable, these records can appear on Checkr reports for up to 7 years.
• Assess non-felony charges older than 7 years as Eligible.
  • This rule focuses on the time that has passed since the record. If a non-felony record is more than 7 years old on the background check date, it appears as Eligible.
  • Records result in either conviction or non-conviction. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), non-convictions, such as certain dismissed records, are reportable for up to 7 years. Convictions are reportable indefinitely. To help encourage access to employment, some states restrict the reporting of all records, regardless of outcome, after 7 years.

• Assess all records older than 7 years as Eligible.
  • This rule focuses on the time that has passed since the record. If a record is more than 7 years old on the background check date, it appears as Eligible.
  • Records result in either conviction or non-conviction. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), non-convictions, such as certain dismissed records, are reportable for up to 7 years. Convictions are reportable indefinitely. To help encourage access to employment, some states restrict the reporting of all records, regardless of outcome, after 7 years.

Charge type

• Assess non-felony marijuana possession records as Eligible.
  • As more states legalize medical and recreational use of marijuana, several states and cities have begun to lower employment barriers for individuals with previous low-level marijuana convictions. These laws often restrict employers from denying employment based on previous marijuana convictions.
  • Marijuana possession is a specific category of criminal records and can be either a conviction or a non-conviction. Under the FCRA, non-convictions, such as certain dismissed records, are reportable for up to 7 years. Convictions are reportable indefinitely.

• Assess non-felony drug possession and paraphernalia charges as Eligible.
  • This rule combines the categories of criminal records below with severity, or record level:
    • Drug Possession
    • Intent to Possess Drugs
    • Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
    • Possession of Drug without Prescription
  • Specific record categories can be either convictions or non-convictions. Under the FCRA, non-convictions, such as certain dismissed records, are reportable for up to 7 years. Convictions are reportable indefinitely. State laws might further restrict reportability.

• Assess vehicle and traffic records as Eligible, except for DUIs and charges that happen because of a death.
  • This category includes all charges in the categories below and assess them as Eligible:
    • License & Registration
    • Parking
    • Speeding
    • Unsafe Operation
    • Vehicle Equipment
  • This category excludes all charges in the categories below:
    • Driving Under the Influence
    • Hit & Run Causing Death
    • Reckless Driving Causing Death

• Assess public nuisance charges as Eligible.
  • This rule assesses as Eligible all charges in the Public Nuisance category, including the ones below:
    • Disorderly Conduct
    • Littering
    • Loitering
    • Maintain a Disorderly House
    • Noise Ordinance Violation
    • Obstruct Passageway
    • Public Urination
    • Unlawful Storage

• Assess prostitution records as Eligible.
  • This rule assesses the records below as Eligible:
    • Promoting Prostitution
    • Prostitution
    • Soliciting a Prostitute
  • This rule doesn't include the charge Prostitution Involving Minor.
• Assess records that qualify for Checkr's expungement service as Eligible.
  • Records that this setting identifies are potentially available for expungement.
  • Many states are passing legislation that allows for certain offenses such as marijuana possession to be expunged, or removed from public record. However, awareness, cost, and a complex legal process prevent most people from pursuing expungements. 

Candidate details

• Assess records from when the candidate's age was younger than 18 as Eligible.
  • This guideline focuses on the candidate's age at the time of the record. Records from when the person was 18 years old or younger appear as Eligible.
• If the candidate is now older than 28 years, assess records from when the candidate was younger than 25 as Eligible.
  • This guideline focuses on the candidate's age at the time of the record. Records from when the person was 25 years old or younger appear as Eligible only if the candidate is currently older than 28.

Custom rules apply across all record categories and can include variables such as the ones below:

• Candidate’s age at disposition
• Number of offenses
• Record age

Custom rules can include multiple conditions. All conditions must be true to apply a rule.

A lookback period is how many years have passed since the record's most recent event, called the context date. Setting lookback period rules is similar to setting an "age limit" for each of 235 charge categories. By default, all charge categories appear as Review for your defined lookback periods. You can customize your rules by the age of the record as well as the record type in each category.

Lookback period rule example

Use the guidelines below to enter lookback periods for records:

• Records appear as Eligible if they happened longer ago than the number of years you enter in the Eligible column. To assess a charge as always Eligible, enter 0 in the Eligible column.
• Records appear as Escalated if they happened within the number of years you enter in the Escalated column. To assess a charge as always Escalated, enter 99 in the Escalated column.
• All records between the Eligible and Escalated numbers appear as Review.
• Any row with no assigned lookback period defaults to Review.

For example: Enter 7 in the Eligible column and 2 in the Escalated column to achieve the result below:

Select the record type to read a description. These descriptions aren't specific legal or statutory definitions for the crimes. Checkr recommends assigning lookback periods for each record category.

Define rules based on how frequently a candidate's history includes a selected record type. These rules apply across categories and other rule types. Repeated records rules apply after other rules and can change a record's assessment to require additional review.

Repeated records rule example

For example, you might set the 2 rules below:

• A lookback period rule marks speeding offenses older than 4 years as Eligible.
• A "Count is more than 3" rule marks 4 or more speeding records as Review.

If a candidate has 3 speeding records older than 4 years, the records are Eligible. If instead that candidate has 4 speeding records of any age, all 4 records are Review.