Employers and Weed Crime Pardons: Background Checks Explained

President Joe Biden’s much-ballyhooed move to pardon people charged with federal offenses for simple marijuana possession could mean renewed hopes for thousands of people with these convictions who may have been denied employment opportunities.

The White House said the pardons could impact more than 6,500 people, but the Oct. 6 executive action doesn’t directly impact or change federal or state employment laws. Employers can use background checks in a nondiscriminatory way to screen applicants under federal law—one way an applicant’s past conviction could crop up. Biden also encouraged state-level offenses to be pardoned, putting the onus on governors to ...