Texas
While Texas does have background screening laws on the books, these laws have been overridden by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Background check Laws in TX:
Business & Commerce Code – Chapter 20 § 20.05 – Reporting of information Prohibited
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a consumer reporting agency may not furnish a consumer report containing information related to: (4) a record of arrest, indictment, or conviction of a crime in which the date of disposition, release, or parole predates the consumer report by more than seven years. (b) A consumer reporting agency may furnish a consumer report that contains information described by Subsection (a) if the information is provided in connection with: (3) the employment of a consumer at an annual salary that is or may reasonably be expected to be $75,000 or more.
In other words:
Please be aware that while this law is on the books, it does not regulate consumer reporting agencies. The FCRA is the controlling law in Texas, and allows reporting of criminal convictions indefintely.
How to Dispute Your Records:
Criminal Records:
If you find that your criminal records are incorrect or incomplete and you would like to take action, you should contact the specific jurisdiction in which the records were originally filed.
Feel free to take a look at some of these resources for more information:
Department of Public Safety
Form for Requesting Personal Review
Detailed information about the DCS criminal records services
Petition for Expunction of Criminal Records
Civil Records:
All of the following are included in civil records: judgments, liens, evictions, family and small claims cases. If you would like to dispute a record, contact the court in which the record was filed.
Justice of the Peace courts and their contact information
District and county court clerks
Contact State Law Officials
Texas Department of Public Safety
Crime Records Service
CJIS Field Representatives
P.O. Box 4143
Austin, Texas 78765
Phone: (512) 424-2478
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
National Laws and Resources
In order to set a standard around hiring policies, the federal government has created the Fair Credit Reporting Act or FCRA to monitor and protect both employers and job seekers. With this law, individuals are protected from unfair workplace discrimination and data breaches of their private, sensitive information. Interested in learning more? Check out GoodHire’s 10-step process for legally obtaining background reports. Be sure to read the official FCRA full text or summary legal document for more details.
Find any court in the USA: Court Locator Tool http://www.uscourts.gov/court_locator/CourtLocatorSearch.aspx