Does HEB Hire Felons?

When you’ve got a criminal record, it’s sensible to find out about a company’s hiring policy before you make an application. No one enjoys getting turned down for a job, but when that rejection is based solely on a past mistake, that’s a bitter pill to swallow. It’s better to spend your time and energy on job applications with companies who won’t dismiss your application out of hand. Is HEB one of those companies—does HEB hire felons?

Does HEB Hire Felons in 2025?

Yes, they do. H-E-B is willing to hire applicants with a felony on their record under some circumstances. Here’s what they say:

“A criminal history will not necessarily exclude an applicant or Partner from employment. However, the existence of certain criminal misconduct, depending on the nature and the Partner’s job duties, may result in the loss of the Partner’s job.”

To get a job with HEB, you’ll need to be a good fit for the role in all other respects, and your felony will need to be one they can work with.

Felony is a blanket term that covers a very wide range of offenses and HEB will make their hiring decision based on the type of offense you committed, when the offense took place, and your conduct since that time.

You could also stand a better chance of getting a job at HEB if you apply as an overnight stocker or warehouse worker where you won’t have to interact with customers or handle payments.

Is HEB A Second Chance Employer?

There’s no indication that HEB has signed up for any of the special initiatives aimed at helping ex-felons find employment.

You’ll be asked if you’ve got a criminal record on the initial application form because HEB hasn’t signed up to Ban the Box via the Fair Chance Business Pledge.

HEB isn’t on the list of companies involved with the Second Chance Business Coalition, either.

But even though they aren’t making any extra public efforts to accommodate ex-offenders, they do hire felons on a case-by-case basis.

Does H-E-B Carry Out Background Checks?

You’ll have to pass a background check before you can work for HEB.

This is standard practice with employers today, although each company has its own guidelines concerning disqualifying offenses.

HEB doesn’t make its background check criteria public knowledge, but reports from employees indicate that the decision on your background will be made by the Human Resources department. The store or warehouse you apply to has no ability to override their decision no matter how much they may want to hire you.

The HEB background check will be carried out after a conditional offer of employment has been made. Once you accept the job offer, you’ll receive an email with a consent form for your background check.

Keep an eye on your inbox and junk folder so you don’t miss the email. Sometimes the email can take a few days to come through, but if you’ve been waiting longer than 1 week, you should get in touch with the recruiting department.

Store management has no information about background checks, so there’s no point in contacting them to find out about the delay.

How Far Back Does The HEB Background Check Go?

HEB stores and warehouses are located in Texas, and Texas is one of the states that have limited background checks to 7 years.

However, we’ve seen reports from individuals who were turned down because of misdemeanor or felony convictions that were older than 7 years, in one case an offense was 21 years old.

We’ve also seen reports from people that were hired with recent offenses on their record.

So what’s going on?

We’re not sure, but we’ll outline some possibilities.

• Even though background reports have a 7-year limit on reporting convictions in Texas, employers can find out about older offenses if information about prison release dates or parole dates is included in the report. If an offense took place 15 years ago but the prison release date was 5 years ago, then the employer can see that an offense took place, even though the actual date of the conviction is well beyond the 7-year limit.
• The 7-year limit doesn’t apply in Texas if the job is a safety-sensitive position, and that job category includes anyone making making residential deliveries.
• In this case, employers are required to go back 20 years and check for felonies and misdemeanors.
• The background check has to confirm that the individual in question has not been convicted of a felony in the past 20 years for an offense against the person or a family, for public indecency, or for an offense against property.
• If the conviction was for a misdemeanor for any of the above offenses, the disqualifying period is 10 years.
• Since HEB hires staff to deliver customer orders, they would have to do this more extensive record search for those positions.

It’s possible that people who were turned down because of the older offenses on their record had applied for delivery driver jobs and were therefore subject to a more thorough background check.

It’s also possible that parole or prison release dates revealed the existence of those older offenses.

Because of the delivery driver background check requirements, you’ll probably have better luck if you apply for a different position.

Which Offenses Disqualify You From Working At HEB?

HEB doesn’t make its hiring criteria public, so it’s not possible to say with any certainty which offenses will make you ineligible for employment.

We’ve seen a report from an employee with a burglary conviction on his record who was hired as an overnight stocker, while others with weed misdemeanors were turned down for other positions.

In general, retailers have a problem with violent offences, sexual offences, fraud, and theft.

Any driving offenses on your record will also be a problem if you’ve applied for a driving position.

Do You Need To Pass A Pre-Employment Drug Test At HEB?

Pre-employment drug testing depends on the position you’ve applied for.

In HEB stores, you’re unlikely to be asked to take a pre-employment drug test unless you’re applying for a pharmacy position. But at HEB warehouses, a pre-hire drug test is standard.

HEB also carries out random drug testing at stores and warehouses, along with reasonable cause drug testing, and post-injury drug testing.

Any time you’re asked to take a drug test at HEB, the test will be a urine drug test that screens your sample for:

• Opiates
• Cocaine
• Marijuana
• Amphetamines and methamphetamines
• Phencyclidine (PCP)

If you test positive on your pre-hire drug test, you won’t be hired. Existing employees receiving a positive drug test result will be fired.

See Also: Does Starbucks Hire Felons?

Summing Up

HEB is open to hiring felons for some positions. The likelihood of getting hired depends on the type of felony that you have on your record, how long ago the offense took place, and your record since that time.

You’ll have to pass a background check, and the criminal record check will go back at least 7 years.

HEB also requires a pre-employment drug test for some positions.

Should felons apply for a job at HEB? Yes, it’s a great place to work if you can get in. But because HEB hires after a case-by-case review of criminal history, it’s impossible to determine ahead of time what the outcome will be for any applicant.