Michaels Background Check

If you can pass the Michaels background check, you can look forward to working in a supportive and creative environment where you’ll be able to become a valuable team member.

And since Michaels prioritizes promoting from within, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to grow your career with the company.

Facing a background check is always a concern when you’ve got a criminal record.

Even if you do really well at your interview, past mistakes can ruin your chances if a company carries out a background check.

Michaels is a popular arts and crafts retailer with stores across the nation, and thousands of hourly paid job openings.

Who Does Michaels Background Check?

Michaels carries out a background check on every prospective employee for their retail stores and their distribution centers.

Don’t let this discourage you though, the background check isn’t as strict as it is with many other employers.

When you fill out your application, you will need to check the box on the form to indicate if you have prior convictions. And you should be honest because the background check will uncover them unless they’re time-limited.

Is Michaels A Ban The Box Employer?

Michaels isn’t on the Ban the Box list, but you may not be asked about your criminal record until a conditional job offer has been made if your state, county, or city has passed their own Ban the Box laws.

Areas with Ban the Box laws in place for large companies are:

• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Washington D.C.
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• Oregon
• Rhode Island
• Vermont
• Washington
• Waterloo, Iowa
• Baltimore, Maryland
• Montgomery County, Maryland
• Prince George’s County, Maryland
• Columbia, Missouri
• Kansas City, Missouri
• Louis, Missouri
• Buffalo, New York
• New York City
• Rochester, New York
• Philadelphia
• Austin, Texas

There are various Ban the Box rules in place in the areas listed above. Some don’t ask about convictions on the application form, while others impose further restrictions and don’t allow a background check to take place until after the interview, or until a conditional offer of employment has been made.

In Illinois, a conviction cannot be disqualifying unless it has a substantial bearing on your suitability for the job.

Michaels states on their application that you don’t need to check the box for convictions that have been sealed, expunged, eradicated, or diverted. And if you have a marijuana conviction that is over two years old you don’t need to check the box for that either.

How Far Back Does Michael’s Background Check Go?

On the application form, Michaels asks about convictions going back ten years. They specifically ask if you’ve ever been convicted of or pled no contest to a felony or misdemeanor involving misrepresentation, theft, or immoral acts.

This is quite limited, and it shows that Michaels isn’t overly concerned about every mistake you made in the past. They are focused on your honesty and moral character, though.

Background checks are a consumer reports and as such, they’re governed by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The FCRA puts a limit on how far back a background check can go. For everything other than a felony, the FCRA limits background reporting to 7 years.

This means if you have any arrests or misdemeanors older than 7 years, the background check can’t report them.

Felonies don’t have a federal time limit, but the following 13 states have imposed their own 7-year limits.

• California
• Colorado
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Montana
• Nevado
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• New York
• Texas
• Washington

Given the ten-year period asked about on Michael’s application, it doesn’t seem likely that the background check will go beyond ten years even where no limits are in place.

Does Michaels Hire With A Misdemeanor?

The type of offense you received your misdemeanor conviction for will determine whether Michaels will want to hire you.

As we already mentioned, Michaels specifically asks about theft, misrepresentation, and immoral behavior on the job application, while they don’t appear to have much of an issue with marijuana.

It may be more difficult to get hired with those offenses on your record, but that’s not to say it’s impossible, and Michaels points out that a conviction will not necessarily disqualify you.

If you’re asked in for an interview, you should be prepared to talk openly about your conviction. Be honest about the circumstances of the crime, accept full responsibility, and explain how you’ve changed. Be sure to mention any specific steps you’ve taken to be a more responsible citizen and any which show your good character.

Michaels will take your offense and your record since that time into account, along with your education, skills, experience, and personality when they make their decision to hire you.

Does Michaels Hire Felons?

There’s good news here too because Michaels has a record of hiring felons. That’s not to say that you will one hundred percent be offered a job if you apply, but there’s a chance that you will. The older your felony, the better that chance will be.

Michaels will probably look closely at any felonies related to theft, fraud, violence, and sexual offences on your background check.

They would need to be certain that you don’t pose a risk to their customers or other employees, so whether they would hire you would very much depend on the nature of your offense and your record since that time.

Is There A Drug Test At Michaels?

For hourly paid retail positions at Michaels, you won’t need to pass a drug test, which makes the hiring process a little less stressful. And current employees report that Michaels doesn’t carry out random drug tests either.

However, they can insist on post-accident drug tests.

If you had an accident and failed the drug test, you would most likely lose your job and you could face a battle to get any injury compensation due to you.

At Michaels warehouses, the situation is a little different. Because warehouses are hazardous places, employers have to put a priority on safety, and applicants for Michaels distribution center jobs will need to pass a saliva drug test.

Read More on Michael’s Drug Testing Policy.

Final Thoughts About Michael’s Background Check

Michael’s background check is less strict than the background check with many retailers, and they’re very clear on the application form about the offenses they consider to be the most problematic.

We’ve seen reports from current and former Michaels employees indicating that having a record with misdemeanors or felonies won’t automatically lead to rejection, so applying for a job at Michaels could work out really well for you.

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