Minnesota background check laws
A practitioner-grade reference to Minnesota 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 MN.
The four levers at a glance
| Lookback period | 7 years (FCRA default) |
| Ban-the-Box scope | Statewide (Minn. Stat. §364.021) |
| Salary history | Banned (eff. 2024 for public employers; HF 2 for private 2025+ pending) |
| Cannabis testing | Recreational legal (2023); pre-employment testing restricted |
Lookback period
Minnesota follows FCRA; expunged records under Minn. Stat. §609A must be suppressed.
Ban-the-Box and Fair Chance rules
Employers may not inquire about criminal history until the candidate has been selected for an interview or, if no interview, until a conditional offer.
Salary history
Pay transparency law effective Jan 1, 2025 requires salary range and benefits in postings for employers with 30+ workers.
Cannabis & drug testing
Minn. Stat. §181.953 prohibits pre-employment cannabis testing for non-safety-sensitive roles. Reasonable-suspicion testing requires documented impairment.
Governing statutes & references
- Minn. Stat. §364.021
- Minn. Stat. §181.953
- Minn. Stat. §609A
- HF 100 (Cannabis Act)
SafestHires compliance note
First full year of the 2023 Cannabis Act employer protections. MDHR is scrutinizing reasonable-suspicion documentation.