Louisiana employers run background checks against two overlapping sets of rules. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the baseline for any employer that uses a third party to pull a report. On top of that, Louisiana has its own statutes that limit what employers can ask about arrest records, when state agencies can screen applicants before an interview, and how expunged records are supposed to be treated. This guide walks through both layers so a hiring manager knows what the paperwork requires and what the state adds on top.
None of this is legal advice. State and federal rules change, and how they apply to a specific job, industry, or candidate can turn on facts a general guide cannot cover. When a decision is close, loop in counsel before you act on it.
The federal floor: FCRA basics every Louisiana employer should know
If a background check is prepared by a consumer reporting agency rather than compiled entirely in house, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies regardless of which state the employer operates in. The statute defines what counts as a consumer report and lays out the employer’s side of the bargain in exchange for using one. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681b, an employer has a permissible purpose to obtain a report for employment purposes only after it gives the applicant a clear, standalone disclosure and gets written authorization.
The FCRA also requires a two step adverse action process when a report factors into a decision not to hire, promote, or retain someone. Before the employer acts, it has to send a pre-adverse action notice along with a copy of the report and a summary of the applicant’s rights, then give the person a reasonable amount of time to respond before sending a final adverse action notice. Louisiana does not replace any of this. It sits on top of it.
Louisiana’s arrest record rule for private employers
Louisiana added a statute in 2021 that directly limits how private employers can use arrest information. Under La. R.S. 23:291.2, an employer generally may not request or consider an arrest record or a charge that did not result in a conviction when it comes up during a background check, unless some other law specifically allows it. For other types of criminal history, the statute requires an individualized assessment rather than an automatic disqualification. The employer has to weigh the nature and seriousness of the offense, how much time has passed since it happened, and how closely it relates to the job before deciding that the record justifies denying the position. The same statute gives the applicant a right to request a copy of the background check information the employer used.
This is a narrower rule than a full “ban the box” law. It regulates how arrest and conviction history gets used during hiring; it does not set a specific point in the process when the employer must wait to run a background check for private sector jobs. Employers still need to layer the federal FCRA disclosure and authorization steps on top of this analysis.
Ban the box for state government jobs
Louisiana does have a true ban the box law, but it is limited to state employment. La. R.S. 42:1701 prohibits a state employer from asking about a prospective employee’s criminal history on an initial application, or at any point before the applicant has either been given an interview opportunity or, where no interview is held, a conditional offer of employment. The statute does not stop the state employer from factoring criminal history into the final hiring decision. It only delays when that question can first be asked, and it directs the employer to weigh the nature of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and its relevance to the position once the inquiry is allowed.
That timing rule applies to the state as an employer. It does not extend the same application timing restriction to private businesses, parish or municipal government, or school boards unless a separate ordinance or policy says otherwise. Employers outside of state government should check with their own local government for any local fair chance ordinance before assuming none applies.
Expungement: what it changes and what it does not
Louisiana’s expungement law sits in the Code of Criminal Procedure rather than the civil statutes most employment lawyers quote. La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971 opens the expungement title with the legislature’s own description of what the remedy does: it removes a record from public access but does not destroy the underlying record, and it does not erase the fact that an arrest or conviction occurred for every purpose. A separate series of articles in the same title lays out who qualifies, how long someone has to wait after a conviction or dismissal, and which record repositories must comply with an expungement order.
For a hiring manager, the practical point is this: an expunged record is supposed to come back clean or come back not at all when a properly maintained criminal history search is run after expungement, but how a specific reporting source handles it can vary, and some state and federal licensing checks are allowed to see records that a general background check cannot. If an applicant says a record was expunged and it still shows up, that is a conversation for the consumer reporting agency and the applicant’s documentation, not a reason to assume the applicant misrepresented anything.
Fingerprint based checks for healthcare, childcare, and other regulated roles
Several categories of work in Louisiana go through a separate screening track that an ordinary employment background check does not replicate. Direct care positions in licensed healthcare settings, childcare employment, and other state licensed roles can be subject to a state and FBI fingerprint based criminal history check run through the state’s own channels rather than through a private consumer reporting agency. Those checks typically have their own statutory disqualifying offense lists and their own appeal process, separate from the FCRA adverse action steps described above. Louisiana law varies by program on exactly which positions are covered and how the fingerprint results are used, so an employer in a regulated industry should confirm the current requirement with the specific licensing agency for that program rather than relying on a general screening policy.
What typically can and cannot be reported
| Item | General rule for private employers | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Arrests without a conviction | Generally cannot be requested or considered under La. R.S. 23:291.2 | Exceptions exist where another law specifically allows the inquiry |
| Convictions | Can be considered, but require an individualized assessment of nature, time elapsed, and job relevance | A conviction alone is not automatically disqualifying under the statute |
| Expunged records | Should not appear on a properly updated report after expungement, with some licensing exceptions | Fingerprint based regulatory checks may still see records a commercial report would not |
| Criminal history for state jobs | Cannot be asked about on the initial application or before an interview or conditional offer | Applies to state employment under La. R.S. 42:1701, not private employers generally |
| Credit and consumer report data generally | Governed by the FCRA disclosure, authorization, and adverse action process | Applies nationwide, including Louisiana |
EEOC considerations on criminal history
Beyond state law, employers still have to think about disparate impact and individualized assessment principles that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission applies under Title VII when a criminal history policy screens out applicants unevenly across protected groups. The EEOC’s guidance on background checks and its overview of prohibited employment policies and practices both describe how a blanket exclusion based on criminal record can run into Title VII problems even where no state law specifically bars it, and recommend the kind of individualized review that Louisiana’s own arrest record statute also calls for. Employers should check the EEOC’s current published guidance directly rather than relying on older guidance documents, since the agency updates and sometimes withdraws specific guidance pages over time.
A practical sequence for Louisiana hiring
- Give the applicant a clear, standalone disclosure that a background check will be obtained, separate from the job application itself.
- Get written authorization before ordering the report.
- If the role is state employment, do not ask about criminal history until after an interview opportunity or conditional offer has been given.
- When criminal history comes back, set aside any arrest that did not lead to a conviction unless another law specifically allows considering it.
- For convictions, document an individualized assessment: the nature of the offense, how long ago it happened, and its relevance to the job.
- If a decision may turn on the report, send the pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the summary of rights, then wait a reasonable period before any final decision.
- For regulated healthcare, childcare, or licensing roles, confirm whether a separate fingerprint based state and federal check applies in addition to, not instead of, the standard screening.
Reveal Background builds employment and tenant screening programs around this kind of layered compliance. Learn more at Reveal Background.
Frequently asked questions
Does Louisiana have a statewide ban the box law for all employers?
No. Louisiana’s timing restriction on criminal history questions under La. R.S. 42:1701 applies to state employment, not to private employers generally. Private employers are instead subject to the separate arrest record limits in La. R.S. 23:291.2.
Can a Louisiana employer ask about an arrest that never led to a conviction?
Generally no. La. R.S. 23:291.2 says an employer should not request or consider an arrest record or charge that did not result in a conviction when it is part of a background check, unless another law specifically allows it.
Does an expunged record in Louisiana disappear completely?
Not entirely. Under La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 971 and the related articles, expungement removes a record from public access but does not destroy the underlying record, and some state and federal fingerprint based checks may still see information that a standard background check would not.
Does the FCRA adverse action process still apply in Louisiana?
Yes. Any employer using a consumer reporting agency for a background check has to follow the FCRA’s disclosure, authorization, and adverse action steps under 15 U.S.C. § 1681b regardless of state. Louisiana’s rules add to, rather than replace, that process.
Do healthcare and childcare jobs in Louisiana use a different kind of background check?
Many do. Direct care, childcare, and other licensed roles can require a separate state and FBI fingerprint based criminal history check through the relevant licensing agency, in addition to any standard employment background check.
Can a Louisiana employer deny a job based on any conviction, no matter how old?
Not automatically. La. R.S. 23:291.2 calls for an individualized assessment that weighs the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and the relevance of the conviction to the job, rather than a blanket rule that any conviction disqualifies an applicant.
For related reading, see our guides on ban the box and fair chance hiring laws and on whether arrests show up on background checks.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Louisiana and federal law can change, and how these rules apply to a specific job or candidate depends on facts this guide cannot cover, so confirm current requirements with qualified counsel before making a hiring decision.
