Illinois has built one of the more detailed state frameworks around hiring and criminal history in the country. Employers in the state are not just working under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). They are also subject to a ban the box law, a civil rights statute that requires an individualized review before a conviction record can factor into a hiring decision, a separate law that limits credit checks, and a licensing statute that requires fingerprint based background checks for many health care roles. Local ordinances in Chicago and Cook County can add further requirements on top of state law.
This guide walks through the major pieces employers need to track. It does not cover every local rule or every industry specific licensing requirement, and it is not a substitute for legal advice. Illinois statutes change, and how a specific fact pattern applies can depend on details this article cannot anticipate.
The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act (ban the box)
The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act (820 ILCS 75) is Illinois’ ban the box law. It applies to employers and employment agencies with 15 or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year. Under the Act, a covered employer may not ask about, consider, or require disclosure of an applicant’s criminal record or criminal history until one of two points in the hiring process: after the applicant has been notified they are selected for an interview, or, if there is no interview, after a conditional offer of employment has been made.
The law carves out a few exceptions. It does not apply where federal or state law already requires employers to exclude applicants with certain convictions, where a fidelity bond requirement would be affected by specific offenses, or where the position is licensed under the Emergency Medical Services Systems Act. The Act also lets an employer state in a job posting which specific offenses would disqualify a candidate, and it separately restricts employers from requiring a driver’s license in a job posting unless driving is actually an essential function of the role.
Enforcement runs through the Illinois Department of Labor, which investigates complaints and can escalate from a written warning on a first violation to civil penalties for repeat or unremedied violations. The statute lays out that escalation in the text of the Act itself, so an employer that gets a warning has a real window to fix a job posting or a screening step before penalties attach.
Arrest records are off limits, and conviction records require individualized assessment
Illinois addresses criminal history through the Illinois Human Rights Act, which lists both arrest record and conviction record as protected classes in employment, with limitations on the conviction side. The mechanics sit in two sections of the Act.
Under 775 ILCS 5/2-103, it is generally a civil rights violation for an employer to use an arrest record, meaning an arrest that did not lead to a conviction, as a basis for an employment decision. An arrest alone, without a conviction, generally may not be used to disqualify a candidate.
Conviction records are treated differently under 775 ILCS 5/2-103.1. An employer may not use a conviction record to refuse to hire, or to take another adverse action, unless there is a substantial relationship between the offense and the job, or unless continuing the employment would create an unreasonable risk to property or to the safety of specific individuals or the public. Before an employer can rely on either of those grounds, the statute requires the employer to weigh several factors, including the length of time since the conviction, the number of convictions on the record, the nature and severity of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the applicant’s age at the time, and evidence of rehabilitation.
If, after weighing those factors, the employer reaches a preliminary decision to disqualify the applicant, the statute requires a notice and response process before that decision becomes final:
| Step | What the statute requires |
|---|---|
| Preliminary notice | Written notice identifying the disqualifying conviction, the employer’s reasoning, and a copy of the conviction history report if one exists |
| Right to respond | The applicant must be told they can respond, including by challenging the accuracy of the record or offering evidence of rehabilitation, and must be given a set period to do so before a final decision is made |
| Final notice | If the employer still disqualifies the applicant, written notice of the final decision, any internal reconsideration procedure, and the applicant’s right to file a charge with the Illinois Department of Human Rights |
A separate provision, 775 ILCS 5/2-103.5, addresses criteria or methods, such as a written screening policy, that have the effect of discriminating based on conviction record, arrest record, or citizenship and work authorization status, using a job relatedness and business necessity framework. Employers building a standard adjudication matrix for criminal history should treat this section, not just 2-103.1, as part of the compliance picture.
Credit checks: the Employee Credit Privacy Act
Illinois restricts the use of credit history in hiring through the Employee Credit Privacy Act (820 ILCS 70). Under this law, an employer generally may not refuse to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate against someone because of credit history, may not ask an applicant or employee about their credit history, and may not obtain a credit report from a consumer reporting agency for employment purposes.
The Act allows credit based screening only where a satisfactory credit history is a bona fide occupational requirement, and it defines that narrowly. Qualifying circumstances include positions where state or federal law requires bonding or other security, positions with custody of or unsupervised access to cash or marketable assets valued at 2,500 dollars or more, and a short list of other statutory categories such as certain managerial, law enforcement, or state or local government roles with signature authority over financial transactions. Outside those categories, credit history is not a lawful basis for a hiring decision in Illinois, regardless of what the applicant’s file otherwise shows.
Health care roles: fingerprint based checks under state law
Illinois requires many health care employers to run a criminal background check before hiring someone into a direct care role, and that check has to be fingerprint based rather than name based. The Health Care Worker Background Check Act (225 ILCS 46) applies to health care employers and long term care facilities and covers applicants for positions involving direct care, or access to the living quarters or the financial, medical, or personal records of clients, patients, or residents.
The Act defines a fingerprint based criminal history records check as a livescan submission processed in the form and manner the Illinois State Police prescribes, run against records maintained by the Illinois Department of Public Health and the FBI. Certain disqualifying convictions bar someone from a direct care role unless a waiver process applies. The statute also carves out exceptions, including individuals already licensed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation or the Department of Public Health under a separate law, and it distinguishes a name based check, which the Illinois State Police also processes for general public requests, from the fingerprint based check this Act requires for covered health care hiring.
Local rules: Chicago and Cook County
Employers hiring in Chicago or unincorporated Cook County should not assume state law is the only layer that applies. Both jurisdictions have adopted their own fair chance and wage related ordinances over the years, and municipal requirements can be stricter or more specific than the state statutes described above, including around notice, timing, or the scope of covered employers. Because municipal code changes on its own schedule and is not always reflected in a state level summary, employers operating inside city or county limits should check current Chicago and Cook County ordinance text directly, or confirm applicability with counsel, rather than relying on general guidance alone.
Sealed and expunged records, and how the FCRA layers on top
Illinois law on sealing and expungement determines what shows up in a state criminal history search in the first place, separate from the individualized assessment rules that govern how a visible conviction can be used. Regardless of what Illinois law allows into a report, any employer using a third party consumer reporting agency to run that report is also operating under the federal FCRA. That means a standalone disclosure, written authorization, and, if the employer intends to take an adverse action based on the report, a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report and the Summary of Rights, followed by a final adverse action notice after a reasonable waiting period. The Federal Trade Commission’s guidance for employers and the EEOC’s enforcement guidance on arrest and conviction records both walk through those federal steps in more detail, and they sit on top of, not in place of, the Illinois specific rules above.
Employers building a single hiring workflow for Illinois should expect to check state disclosure and individualized assessment steps, federal FCRA notice steps, and any applicable municipal ordinance, in that order, rather than treating any one of the three as sufficient on its own.
For more on how ban the box laws work across states generally, see our guide to ban the box and fair chance hiring laws. For more on how credit checks are regulated outside Illinois, see our guide to credit checks for employment.
Frequently asked questions
Does Illinois’ ban the box law apply to every employer?
No. The Job Opportunities for Qualified Applicants Act applies to employers and employment agencies with 15 or more employees in the current or preceding calendar year, along with a small number of statutory exceptions such as positions where federal or state law already requires exclusion of applicants with certain convictions.
Can an Illinois employer ask about an arrest that did not lead to a conviction?
Generally no. Under 775 ILCS 5/2-103 of the Illinois Human Rights Act, using an arrest record that did not result in a conviction as a basis for an employment decision is generally a civil rights violation.
What does the individualized assessment for a conviction record actually require?
Before disqualifying an applicant based on a conviction, an Illinois employer must weigh statutory factors such as the age of the conviction, its nature and severity, and evidence of rehabilitation, and if it reaches a preliminary decision to disqualify, must give the applicant written notice and a chance to respond before making a final decision.
Are employment credit checks legal in Illinois?
Only in limited circumstances. The Employee Credit Privacy Act generally bars employers from asking about or using credit history in hiring, with narrow exceptions such as roles requiring bonding or involving unsupervised access to cash or assets of 2,500 dollars or more.
Do health care employers in Illinois have to use fingerprint based background checks?
Many do. The Health Care Worker Background Check Act requires a fingerprint based criminal history records check, processed through the Illinois State Police, for applicants to many direct care positions with health care employers and long term care facilities.
Does Chicago have its own background check rules on top of Illinois law?
Chicago and Cook County have adopted their own local ordinances that can add to state requirements. Employers hiring inside those jurisdictions should check current municipal ordinance text or confirm applicability with counsel rather than relying on state law alone.
Learn more about compliant screening options at Reveal Background.
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Employers should consult qualified counsel about how these laws apply to their specific hiring practices.
