Massachusetts

Background check laws in MA:

Section 62 Denial of credit or employment, etc. because of adverse credit information; disclosures to consumer

Section 62. (a) Whenever credit or insurance for personal, family or household purposes, or employment involving a consumer is denied or terminated or the charge for such credit or insurance is increased either wholly or partly or whenever a consumer’s line of credit is reduced, except when the consumer is delinquent with regard to such line of credit, because of information contained in a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency, the user of the consumer report shall, within ten business days of its decision to deny or terminate such credit, insurance or employment, or to increase the charge for such credit or insurance, or to reduce a consumer’s line of credit, except when the consumer is delinquent with regard to such line of credit, notify such consumer in writing against whom such adverse action has been taken. Said notice shall be in a clear and conspicuous format, no smaller than ten point type, and shall contain the name, address, and toll-free telephone number of any consumer reporting agency which provided any consumer report which was reviewed or otherwise taken into account in the making of such adverse action and shall inform the consumer of his rights […].

In other words:

If a job applicant is denied employment because of information found in the applicant’s credit information, the employer must notify the applicant in writing within 10 days of her or his adverse decision. The notice must be in 10-point type or larger and must include the name, physical address and toll-free phone number of the CRA. The adverse notice must also include specific language informing the applicant of her or his rights.

Except as authorized under subsection (b) no consumer reporting agency shall make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information:

• (1) Bankruptcies which, from date of adjudication of the most recent bankruptcy, antedate the report by more than fourteen years; (5) Records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of crime which, from date of disposition, release, or parole, antedate the report by more than seven years. (b) The provisions of subsection (a) are not applicable in the case of any consumer credit report to be used in connection with—
• (1) a credit transaction involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a principal amount of fifty thousand dollars or more; or
• (2) the underwriting of life insurance involving, or which may reasonably be expected to involve, a face amount of fifty thousand dollars or more.

In other words:

Credit reporting agencies in Massachusetts cannot report on criminal records that are older than 7 years, nor can they report on information about an applicant’s bankruptcy if the date of judgment is more than 14 years old. However, these provisions do not apply if the consumer report is used in connection with: (1) a credit transaction that involves or is expected to involve $50,000 or more; or (2) a life insurance policy of $50,000 or more.

803 CMR 2.00-2.28: Criminal Offender Record Information

Employers obtaining criminal offender record information from Massachusetts' Department of Criminal Justice Information Services have additional responsibilities under CORI law. 

803 CMR 2.15: Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) Policy Requirement for Certain Requestors

(1) Any employer or governmental licensing agency that annually conducts five or more criminal background investigations, whether CORI is obtained from DCJIS or any other source, shall maintain a written CORI policy, which must meet the minimum standards of the DCJIS model CORI policy

In other words:

Employers who receive criminal offender record information from DJCIS must meet special obligations under CORI reform legislation. You can find these requirements here: http://www.mass.gov/eopss/docs/chsb/803-cmr-2-00-criminal-offender-record-information-cori.pdf

Any employer that performs 5 or more background checks per year in Massachusetts must have a written criminal record information policy in place. This policy must be shared with applicants who request it.