In The News
There are limits on how long information can stay on your job history
How long does ‘stuff’ stay on your employment history record?
One of the more common questions I get involves how long certain information will stay on your employment/driving/criminal history record.
In other words, how old will the information be before it drops off your record?
Well, this question is getting old (heh- heh) so here’s the scoop.
First off there are a couple of ways potential employers typically investigate your past employment.
They call or contact past employers directly and/or they use a service that provides employment history information.
Usually, they do both. The means by which they obtain the information affects how long something will be reported.
When a potential employer contacts a past employer directly and asks about your past performance, they are typically only contacting those companies for whom you worked in the past 10 years.
If you worked for a company nine years ago, that company may provide your potential employer with information on your job performance — eligibility for rehire, reason for leaving, etc.
There is one exception. Typically, a motor carrier will only report drug and alcohol results for the past three years.
So, if you tested positive for a company nine years ago, they probably won’t report this fact.
But in general, a past employer, in this scenario may report employment information—including derogatory information—in the ten year period that is typically checked.
When a potential employer uses a service company to obtain employment history information which will be used as factor in deciding whether to hire you, a federal law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) comes into play.
This law restricts how long certain information may be reported by service companies.
DAC employment history reports may contain information that goes back 10 years.
However only the past seven years will have any good/bad information.
Years seven through 10 will only report information such as that you worked there and dates of service. Information such as job performance, eligibility for rehire and reason for leaving will not be reported.
So, in general, derogatory information may be reported going back seven years, but there is an exception.
DOT drug and alcohol testing information is only reported for three years.
To summarize, time periods of information when a service is used are 0-3 years, all information is reportable; three-seven years, all information with the exception of drug/alcohol testing results; seven-10 years: only information that could not be positive or negative in nature, and 10-plus years: employment information drops off altogether.
If a past employer is contacted directly, the first three years all information is reportable, three-10 years all information with the exception of drug/alcohol testing results is reportable.
Derek Hinton is CEO of TIES LLC, better known as www.DOTJobHistory.com. DOTJob-History allows drivers to obtain and verify their employment (DAC), driving and criminal records. They may then make this information available over the Web to employers who can access the information instantly.
Hinton has more than 20 years experience in the areas of employment screening, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Motor Carrier Safety regulations. He began his career at DAC Services in 1984 and is the author of “The Criminal Records Manual†a book that details criminal records in the hiring process. For more information, contact information for Hinton can be found at www.dotjobhistory.com.