Austin Background Checks: An Employer’s Guide [2025]

Austin-based employers are tasked with ensuring that their potential hires are trustworthy, safe, and qualified before making employment decisions.

This process involves completing comprehensive background checks that include reviews of criminal records, education history, employment history, and more.

As an established employment screening company, iprospectcheck routinely conducts background checks for employers in Austin and across Travis, Hays, and Williamson Counties in Texas.

This guide will provide an overview of what you need to know about Austin background checks, the laws that govern the process, and how to conduct them efficiently and in compliance with these laws.

What is an Austin Employment Background Check?

A background check for employment in Austin entails examining a candidate’s reported qualifications, educational background, work history, and criminal record to verify their suitability, integrity, and reliability.

These checks assist Austin-based employers in making informed hiring decisions and safeguarding their company’s reputation, workforce, and clientele.

Why Do Austin Employers Perform Background Checks?

1. Maintain a Safe Work Environment

Employers are tasked with the obligation to ensure workplace safety to protect their employees and clients.

Background checks can disclose if a potential hire has a criminal past that might jeopardize the safety of employees and customers.

2. Ensure Fairness in the Hiring Process

By implementing and following a uniform background check process, employers can ensure fairness in hiring, mitigate unconscious biases, and ensure equitable recruitment procedures.

3. Adhere to State and Federal Regulations

Certain industries are regulated by state or federal agencies and must complete background checks that conform to their regulatory requirements.

Some examples include hiring for positions involving work with vulnerable groups, including children, the disabled, or the elderly, and for jobs working in industries
overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

4. Mitigating Negligent Hiring Liability Risks

Employers can face lawsuits if they employ someone who inflicts harm on others while performing their duties, especially if a thorough background check could have flagged this potential risk.

By conducting background checks, employers can screen out unsafe applicants and reduce the chance they might face negligent hiring lawsuits.

5. Bolster Client Confidence

In industries pivotal to Austin’s economy, such as finance, healthcare, and technology, employees often handle sensitive client information.

Implementing a policy for background checks can reassure clients that their information is in safe hands.

What Shows up on an Austin Background Check?

What appears on a background check depends on the requests the employer makes.

Most Austin employers request the following searches:

• Criminal history
• Employment history
• Education history
• Identity verification
• Motor vehicle records

Employers hiring for positions requiring professional licensure might also verify the applicant’s credentials.

Here’s what might appear on these searches:

Criminal History

A pre-employment criminal background check reveals the following if an applicant has a criminal conviction or pending criminal charge:

• Criminal case number
• Offense type
• Offense date
• Severity of the offense (misdemeanor or felony)
• Disposition and disposition date
• Sentence information

Expunged records cannot be reported under state law.

Employment Verification

Employment verification discloses details about an applicant’s previous employment, including the names and addresses of former employers, dates of employment, and the titles and positions the applicant held.

Education Verification

Education verification confirms an applicant’s educational history and reports the names and addresses of the schools attended, the applicant’s attendance dates, and whether the applicant was awarded a degree, diploma, or certificate.

Professional License Verification

Professional license verification validates a candidate’s professional credentials.

Identity Verification

Identity verification confirms the applicant’s identity by cross-referencing their address history, date of birth, and other information.

This helps to prevent confusing an applicant with another individual who has a similar name and ensures the reported information belongs to the candidate.

Motor Vehicle Records Check

A motor vehicle records (MVR) check reports information about an applicant’s driving history and driver’s license.

An MVR check will provide information about the license number, license type, issuance date, expiration date, suspensions, revocations, traffic violations, and traffic crimes.

Laws and Regulations

Federal Laws

Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is the most important federal law covering the employment background check process and applies to both the consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) that complete background checks and the employers that request them.

Under the FCRA, CRAs are restricted from reporting the following types of information older than seven years when a background check is requested for a job paying an annual salary of less than $75,000:

• Collection accounts
• Civil judgments
• Civil lawsuits
• Paid tax liens
• Bankruptcies (Chapter 13; Chapter 7 – 10 years)
• Arrests that didn’t culminate in convictions

The FCRA’s seven-year rule does not apply to convictions, jobs paying at least $75,000, or other relevant background information about a candidate’s past employment, education, credentials, etc.

This law also guides what employers should do when they want to deny employment to an applicant based on information in a background check.

Employers must go through the adverse action process before making a final adverse hiring decision.

Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act is a federal ban-the-box law that only applies to federal agencies and private companies that seek federal contracts.

If your company wants to secure a federal contract, you must wait to ask about criminal history information until you have extended a conditional job offer to the candidate.

If you ask about the criminal history information before making a conditional job offer, federal agencies can’t award a federal contract to your company under this law.

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) is the most important anti-discrimination law and prohibits workplace discrimination based on an applicant’s or employee’s protected characteristics.

According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), this law applies to the employment background check process when employers discover an applicant’s criminal conviction through a background check.

Employers should individually assess convictions as they relate to the duties of the job before deciding not to hire the applicant.

State Laws

Texas House Bill 2127 – The Regulatory Consistency Act

The Regulatory Consistency Act (Texas HB 2127) was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 14, 2023.

Because of the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, Austin’s ban-the-box ordinance has been preempted.

This means employers are no longer required to wait until after they extend conditional job offers to complete criminal background checks.

However, employers must still follow the FCRA and Title VII.

If they have federal contracts, they must still wait until after extending conditional employment offers to inquire about criminal history information under the federal Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (FCA).

Texas Expunction Law

Expunction in Texas is the same as the process known as expungement in other states.
Texas’s expunction law is codified at Tex. Code Crim. Proc. § 55.01 and gives individuals who have been pardoned, acquitted, or had their criminal charges dismissed the right to have their records cleared.

People who have received deferred adjudications for Class C misdemeanors also can ask for an expunction.

When a court grants an expunction, the expunged criminal record can’t be reported, and employers can’t consider them for hiring purposes.

Applicants can legally deny they have convictions when they have been expunged.

Mini-FCRA

Texas Bus. & Comm. Code § 20.05 was passed in 1997 and provides similar protections to consumers in the privacy of the information gathered and reported by CRAs as the FCRA with one key difference.

Under the Texas mini-FCRA, CRAs are prohibited from reporting convictions older than seven years for jobs paying less than $75,000 per year. By contrast, the FCRA does not restrict the reporting of criminal conviction records.

While the mini-FCRA appears to provide more rights to consumers than the FCRA, the provision restriction reports of older conviction records was preempted by the FCRA since the FCRA was enacted before the state law.

This means the FCRA, and not the Texas state law, controls.

While CRAs can legally report conviction records no matter their age, many still follow the preempted seven-year rule in Texas and don’t report convictions older than seven years for positions paying under $75,000 per year.

Local Laws

Travis County Fair Chance Hiring Policy: Preempted

Travis County passed a fair chance hiring policy in 2008 for public employers that required them to wait until later in the hiring process before inquiring about criminal history information.

However, the passage of the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act into law in June 2023 preempts this local policy.

This means that public employers in Travis County are no longer required to wait to ask about criminal history information.

However, employers that have federal contracts must still wait until after they make conditional job offers under the federal Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act if they want to continue contracting with the federal government.

City of Austin Ban-the-Box Ordinance: Preempted

The City of Austin passed a ban-the-box ordinance that applied to public and private employers with 15 or more employees and required them to wait to inquire about criminal history information until after making conditional employment offers.

However, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act preempts this local law, which means it no longer applies to employers in the city.

Employers do not have to follow the local ban-the-box ordinance and can instead inquire about criminal history information early in the hiring process if they choose.

Any employer with federal contracts must still wait until after making a conditional job offer to complete criminal background checks under the federal Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, however.

Otherwise, they could risk losing their federal contracts.

How to Conduct Employment Background Checks in Austin, TX

1. Create a Comprehensive Background Check Policy

Your company should craft a robust background check policy that specifies the procedures used in the employment screening process.

This policy should include steps that conform with relevant federal, state, and local employment screening laws to ensure your HR staff complies.

2. Adhere to Notice and Consent Requirements

Before proceeding with a background check, it’s vital to provide written notice to the applicants and obtain their written consent.

The FCRA requires employers to provide this notice on a separate form to ensure it’s not missed. Employers must also obtain the applicant’s signed consent before they complete a background check.

3. Select a Credible Employment Screening Provider

While it’s possible to run background checks independently, working with a professional employment screening partner like iprospectcheck ensures a more reliable and efficient process.

We are trusted because of our stringent legal compliance and our ability to flawlessly integrate with your applicant tracking system (ATS).

This integration facilitates a smoother hiring process and reduces the risk of errors.

Because of our extensive experience and access to resources, we provide fast turnaround times to ensure you receive the necessary information right when you need it.

4. Schedule Your Background Checks Appropriately

Even though it might not be required under Texas state law, it’s best to wait to
perform background checks until after you extend conditional job offers to your candidates.

Delaying helps you conserve resources on background checks until you’re confident an applicant meets the other qualifications.

5. Choose Background Checks Suited to Your Industry and the Position

At iprospectcheck, we offer a broad menu of searches from which you can choose to create tailored background checks for your open positions.

You can select from several packages or pick and choose from many different types of searches.

6. Fairly Evaluate Conviction Records

Avoid having a blanket policy to turn down applicants with criminal records.

Instead, you should consider the nature of the offense, how it applies to the job’s responsibilities, and how much time has passed since the conviction.

7. Communicate the Results

Upon receiving the background check report, it’s crucial to transparently communicate the results to your candidate.

8. Adhere to the Adverse Action Process

If you decide against hiring a candidate based on information from a background check, you must adhere to the FCRA’s adverse action process.

This process includes issuing a pre-adverse action notice and allowing the candidate an opportunity to rectify any incorrect information.

If you still decide not to hire the applicant based on that information, send a final adverse action notice along with a copy of the applicant’s rights.

Trust iprospectcheck for Dependable Austin, TX Background Checks

Rely on iprospectcheck for comprehensive, compliant, and timely background checks in Austin, Texas.

Our seasoned team guarantees you receive precise, comprehensive information to make informed hiring decisions while also rigidly following local, state, and federal rules.

Reach out to us today to learn more about our background check services: 888-509-1979

DISCLAIMER: The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult your counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.