Accessing Criminal Records
In Missouri, it is legal for private and public employers to conduct inquiries about an applicant’s criminal history as part of the pre-employment background screening process; this includes reviewing conviction records. NCS makes reading reports easy. Our criminal background checks report convictions and serious pending cases that belong to your applicant.
Employers are prohibited from asking about or considering arrest records that have been expunged, pertain to charges that have been dropped or dismissed or did not lead to conviction may not access sealed records, or require candidates to disclose details regarding arrests or convictions that were expunged from their criminal record. In fact, employers are required to specifically inform candidates that they are under no obligation to share any information regarding expunged charges.
Under the Missouri expungement law, individuals convicted of many different types of felony offenses and misdemeanor crimes can petition the court in the county in which they were convicted to request their records be expunged. There is a three-year waiting period following the completion of a sentence and the payment of all fines for a felony conviction. Those with misdemeanor convictions cannot request an expungement until one year after they have completed their sentences and paid their fines. If the petition is successful, the record will be sealed and cannot be reported. An applicant with an expunged conviction is legally allowed to state that he or she does not have a criminal conviction if asked by a prospective employer.
Ban the Box Policies – Missouri
The state's ban-the-box law applies to agencies within the executive branch of the Missouri state government and states that executive branch agencies may not include questions about criminal history on their applications. However, the law does allow executive branch agencies to ask about criminal history information when having a conviction would make the person ineligible for the position under the law.
In addition to the state law, the cities of Kansas City and St. Louis have adopted ban-the-box laws. In Kansas City, employers with at least six employees cannot ask about criminal history information until the interview process. Employers are also prohibited from considering a criminal conviction unless it is determined that the conviction directly relates to the requirements of the job.
In St. Louis, the law applies to employers with at least 10 employees. It prohibits employers from asking about criminal history information on job applications, and they can only do so after the applicants have been interviewed unless they conduct criminal background checks on the entire pool of final candidates. Employers also are not allowed to base hiring decisions on criminal convictions unless they have determined that the convictions directly relate to the duties of the jobs.
