LEGAL & COMPLIANCE
If you're running Workday or considering it for your hiring process, understanding both its background check capabilities and your legal compliance obligations is essential. This guide explains how Workday handles background screening, what options you have, and, most importantly, the legal requirements HR teams must follow under federal and state law.
Does Workday Do Background Checks?
Workday does not conduct background checks directly. Instead, Workday integrates with third-party Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) who handle the actual investigation and reporting. This integration approach allows HR teams to initiate and track background checks from within Workday while specialized vendors perform the screening work in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and state laws.
Understanding Compliance Responsibilities
Critical Point: While your screening provider (the CRA) must comply with FCRA requirements for assembling and furnishing consumer reports, employers have independent legal obligations as users of consumer reports, including:
- Providing required disclosures to candidates
- Obtaining written authorization before ordering reports
- Following adverse action procedures if reports influence employment decisions
- Using reports only for permissible purposes
- Complying with state and local background check laws
- Protecting the confidentiality of sensitive information
Both the employer and the CRA have distinct compliance obligations. The CRA's compliance does not eliminate the employer's responsibilities.
The integration architecture means Workday serves as your workflow platform for initiating checks and tracking status, while background check partners conduct investigations according to your specifications. Most major CRAs offer pre-built integrations with Workday, but compliance complexity extends far beyond technical integration.
EXPERT INSIGHT: Technology can help us streamline the process, but it is not a substitute for good judgment and appropriate background screening best practices. When we take a thoughtful and consistent approach to conducting background screenings, we can help ensure the integrity of our hiring decisions. From an HR standpoint, background screening is never just about activating a system feature. It requires a clear understanding of our independent compliance responsibilities, from proper disclosures to thoughtful adverse action processes. - Charm Paz, CHRP
How Long Does a Workday Background Check Take?
The timeline for background checks initiated through Workday depends on your screening provider, the scope of searches requested, and external factors beyond anyone's control.
Typical Timelines
- Basic criminal checks and employment verification: 2-5 business days
- Comprehensive packages (education verification, professional licenses, multiple jurisdictions): 7-14 business days or longer
- International background checks: Can take several weeks depending on country
Factors Affecting Timeline
- Court record systems: Counties with paper-based records take longer than those with digitized systems
- Employment verification: Depends on previous employer responsiveness
- Education verification: Varies by institution
- Staged results: Criminal checks may return quickly while verifications take longer
- Disputes: If candidate disputes information, CRA has up to 30 days to reinvestigate (FCRA § 1681i)
- Adverse action waiting period: FCRA pre-adverse action process adds at least 5 business days after you receive results
What Types of Background Checks Can Be Conducted Through Workday?
Workday itself doesn't perform any specific type of background check—it functions as an integration platform. The types of checks you can run depend entirely on your chosen CRA and the packages you configure.
Commonly Available Screening Components
Most CRAs integrated with Workday offer:
- Criminal history searches:
- County criminal searches (most accurate for felonies and most misdemeanors)
- State repository searches
- Federal court searches
- National criminal database searches (should be supplemented with county searches; databases may be incomplete)
- Sex offender registry searches
- Employment verification:
- Dates of employment
- Job titles
- Sometimes: Eligibility for rehire, attendance record (with authorization)
- Education verification:
- Degrees obtained
- Attendance dates
- Major/field of study
- Certifications
- Professional license verification:
- License status (active, inactive, suspended, revoked)
- License number and expiration date
- Disciplinary actions
- Credit reports (subject to significant state and local restrictions—see below):
- Credit history
- Bankruptcies
- Liens and judgments
- Motor vehicle records (MVRs):
- Driving history
- Violations and suspensions
- License status
- Drug and health screening coordination
- Global sanctions and watchlist searches:
- OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) list
- Excluded parties lists
- International sanctions lists
- Reference checks
Configuring Screening Packages: Legal Considerations
The screening package you select must align with:
- Job-relatedness: Components should be relevant to the specific position's responsibilities
- Legal restrictions by jurisdiction (see State Restrictions section below)
- Industry-specific requirements (e.g., healthcare, financial services, transportation)
- Your organization's risk tolerance and policies
How Thorough Is Background Screening Through Workday?
The thoroughness of background checks initiated through Workday depends on:
- Your screening provider's methodologies and data sources
- The screening package you select
- How you configure the searches
- Applicable legal restrictions on scope
Workday's role is facilitating the workflow and storing results—not determining search depth or quality.
Screening Methodology Variations
Database-Only Searches:
- Faster and less expensive
- May miss records not reported to databases
- Incomplete coverage in some jurisdictions
- National criminal databases are helpful for identifying where to search, but should not be sole source
County Courthouse Searches:
- Most accurate for criminal records (most felonies and misdemeanors are prosecuted at county level)
- Direct access to official court records
- More time-consuming and expensive
- Considered the "gold standard" for criminal checks
Best Practice: Comprehensive packages typically include both database searches (for breadth) and county courthouse searches (for depth/accuracy) in jurisdictions where candidate lived, worked, or attended school.
Verification Depth Options
Employment Verification:
- Basic: Dates and title only
- Enhanced: May include salary (with authorization), eligibility for rehire, attendance, performance (rare due to employer liability concerns)
Education Verification:
- Verification that degree was conferred
- Dates of attendance
- Major/degree type
- Some services verify individual courses or transcripts
Who Does Workday Use for Background Checks?
Workday maintains an integration marketplace where multiple Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) connect with the platform (see GCheck), rather than designating a single official partner.
The ability to choose among multiple providers matters because background screening requirements, service levels, pricing, and specializations vary considerably across industries, company sizes, and geographic footprints.
IMPORTANT LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This guide provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Background screening is governed by multiple federal, state, and local laws that vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, state fair chance acts, ban-the-box laws, and privacy statutes impose specific obligations on employers. Always consult with qualified employment law counsel to ensure your background screening practices comply with all applicable laws in the jurisdictions where you recruit, hire, and employ workers.
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