Massachusetts background check laws
A practitioner-grade reference to Massachusetts pre-employment background screening: lookback caps, ban-the-box scope, salary-history limits, cannabis testing rules, and the statutes the SafestHires compliance team applies on every order routed to MA.
The four levers at a glance
| Lookback period | 5 years misdemeanor / 10 years felony (M.G.L. c. 6 §172) |
| Ban-the-Box scope | Statewide (CORI reform; M.G.L. c. 151B §4) |
| Salary history | Banned (M.G.L. c. 149 §105A) |
| Cannabis testing | Recreational legal; medical accommodation required |
Lookback period
Massachusetts caps misdemeanor reporting at five years and felony reporting at ten years from disposition or release.
Ban-the-Box and Fair Chance rules
Employers may not ask about criminal history on the initial application and may not consider arrests not leading to conviction or first-conviction misdemeanors for several enumerated offenses.
Salary history
Employers may not seek wage-history information. Effective 2025, employers with 25+ workers must disclose pay range in postings.
Cannabis & drug testing
Barbuto v. Advantage Sales (2017) recognized a reasonable-accommodation duty for medical-cannabis patients absent undue hardship.
Governing statutes & references
- M.G.L. c. 6 §172 (CORI)
- M.G.L. c. 151B §4
- M.G.L. c. 149 §105A
- Acts of 2024 c. 141 (pay transparency)
SafestHires compliance note
CORI access agreement required to query the state repository.