Minnesota employers who run background checks are working under two layers of law at once. The federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets the baseline for any employer that uses a third party to pull a report. Minnesota law then adds its own rules about when criminal history can be asked about, how expunged and sealed records must be treated, and what an employer cannot hold against a candidate off the clock. This guide walks through both layers so hiring teams know what is allowed, what is required, and where the gaps in state law actually sit.
The federal baseline every Minnesota employer still has to meet
If a background check is run through a consumer reporting agency rather than compiled in house, the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies regardless of what state the employer or the applicant is in. That means a standalone written disclosure, separate from the job application, a signed authorization, a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the Summary of Rights before any decision is finalized, and a final adverse action notice if the employer decides not to move forward because of what the report contains. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Regulation V spells out how those consumer reporting obligations are implemented and enforced. Minnesota does not replace any of this. It sits on top of it.
Minnesota’s ban the box law for private employers
Minnesota’s statewide ban the box statute, Minnesota Statutes section 364.021, covers both public and private employers. Under the statute, an employer may not inquire into, consider, or require disclosure of an applicant’s criminal record or criminal history until the applicant has been selected for an interview or, if there is no interview step, before a conditional offer of employment has been made. That means the question has to come off the initial job application entirely for most employers in the state.
The statute carves out two exceptions. It does not apply to the Department of Corrections, and it does not apply to employers who have a separate statutory duty to run a criminal history background check or otherwise consider criminal history as part of hiring, which covers many licensed health care, education, and vulnerable adult care positions. The law also does not stop an employer from telling applicants up front that a particular criminal history will disqualify them from a specific position, as long as the inquiry itself still waits until the interview or conditional offer stage. These timing rules sit alongside the broader background check process an employer otherwise follows, including the FCRA disclosure and authorization steps.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension checks
Many Minnesota employers, particularly in health care, child care, education, and other roles involving vulnerable people, are required by separate statute to request a criminal history background study through the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, part of the Department of Public Safety. These background studies pull from the state’s criminal history repository and, depending on the program, may include a fingerprint based national check through the FBI. Because these checks are required by statute, the ban the box timing rule in section 364.021 does not block the employer from running them when the law says they must. Employers outside those regulated categories generally obtain criminal history information through a private consumer reporting agency rather than a direct BCA request, and that path brings the full FCRA disclosure and adverse action sequence into play.
Expungement and the Clean Slate Act
Minnesota’s expungement law, codified in chapter 609A of the state statutes, allows certain criminal records to be sealed from public view through a court petition process. Section 609A.03 sets out the petition procedure, the notice that must go to prosecutors and victims, and the factors a judge weighs before granting relief, including the risk the record poses to public safety against the benefit to the petitioner.
Minnesota’s Clean Slate Act, enacted in 2023 and phased in with automatic relief beginning in 2025, added section 609A.015, which allows expungement without the person having to file a petition at all. Automatic relief applies when charges were dismissed, when a case was resolved in the person’s favor, or after a person has completed a diversion program, a stay of adjudication, or a waiting period following conviction for a qualifying, non-felony offense without a new offense in between. Once a record is expunged, whether through the petition process or automatically, employers generally should not consider it in a hiring decision, and in most cases the sealed record will not appear in a BCA check or a private consumer report. For more on how automatic clearing interacts with hiring decisions in other states, see this site’s broader guide to Clean Slate laws and background checks.
Cannabis and other lawful off duty conduct
Minnesota Statutes section 181.938 prohibits an employer from refusing to hire, disciplining, or discharging an employee because that person uses or enjoys a lawful consumable product off the employer’s premises during nonworking hours. The statute specifically names cannabis flower, cannabis products, lower potency hemp edibles, and hemp derived consumer products as lawful consumable products for this purpose, alongside food, alcohol, and tobacco, regardless of how federal law treats cannabis. The protection has real limits. It does not stop an employer from acting on impairment, possession, or use during working hours, on work premises, or while operating an employer’s vehicle or equipment, and it does not override federal or state rules that would cause an employer to lose a licensing or monetary benefit by continuing to employ someone, which matters for federally regulated positions such as safety sensitive transportation roles.
What can be reported and when
| Record or question | Can a Minnesota employer ask or use it | Rule and citation |
|---|---|---|
| Criminal history on the initial job application | Generally no, for most employers | Must wait until interview or conditional offer, Minn. Stat. 364.021 |
| Criminal history where a statute requires a background study (health care, child care, vulnerable adult care, etc.) | Yes, as required by the governing statute | Exception under Minn. Stat. 364.021; study run through the BCA |
| A record sealed through court petition or automatic expungement | Generally no, the record should not be available or considered | Minn. Stat. chapter 609A, automatic relief at 609A.015 |
| Off duty, off premises lawful cannabis or other consumable product use | No, not as grounds for an adverse action alone | Minn. Stat. 181.938 |
| A consumer report purchased from a background check company | Yes, with disclosure, authorization, and adverse action steps | FCRA, 15 U.S.C. 1681b |
How the EEOC guidance fits in
On top of Minnesota’s own statutes, employers that operate under Title VII still have to be mindful of disparate impact. The EEOC’s long standing guidance on the use of arrest and conviction records explains that a blanket policy excluding anyone with a criminal record can create a disparate impact problem if it is not job related and consistent with business necessity, and recommends an individualized assessment that looks at the nature of the offense, the time that has passed, and the nature of the job. This is federal guidance, not a Minnesota statute, and it does not replace the state’s ban the box timing rule, but employers in Minnesota should be applying both at once.
What Minnesota law does not do
Minnesota’s statutes do not create a general right to have a non-expunged criminal conviction hidden from a background check, and state law does not promise that a report will or will not surface a particular record. What actually shows up depends on the source of the record, whether it has been sealed, and which reporting agency or state repository the information is pulled from. Employers should not assume a check will reveal every past arrest or that silence on a report means no record exists, and should not promise applicants that a check is complete or promised in any respect. This guide covers Minnesota’s current statutes; a candidate who also lived or worked in another state may still be subject to that state’s separate rules, which this site covers in its guide to ban the box and fair chance hiring laws nationally.
Frequently asked questions
Does Minnesota’s ban the box law apply to every private employer?
It applies broadly to public and private employers under Minn. Stat. 364.021, with exceptions for the Department of Corrections and for employers that have a separate statutory duty to consider criminal history during hiring.
When can a Minnesota employer ask about criminal history?
Not until the applicant has been selected for an interview, or, if there is no interview step, not until after a conditional offer of employment has been made, unless a statutory exception applies.
What does Minnesota’s Clean Slate Act actually do?
It added an automatic expungement path under Minn. Stat. 609A.015 for certain dismissed charges, favorable case resolutions, and completed diversion or stay of adjudication matters, so a person does not have to file a court petition to get relief in those situations.
Can a Minnesota employer consider an expunged or sealed record?
Generally no. Once a record is sealed under chapter 609A, whether by petition or automatically, it should not be available for most background check purposes and should not be weighed in a hiring decision.
Can a Minnesota employer refuse to hire someone because they use cannabis off duty?
Minn. Stat. 181.938 protects off premises, off duty use of lawful consumable products, including cannabis flower and cannabis products, though it does not protect on the job impairment, use, or possession, and it does not override conflicting federal requirements.
Do Minnesota employers still have to follow the FCRA?
Yes. Any employer using a consumer reporting agency for a background check must still provide the standalone disclosure, get written authorization, and complete the pre-adverse and adverse action steps required under federal law.
This article is general information about Minnesota and federal law as of this writing, not legal advice. Employers should consult qualified counsel about how these rules apply to a specific hiring decision.
