How to Run Background Checks Through Justworks PEO: A Practical Walkthrough

You’ve already made the call to go with Justworks as your PEO. Now you’re hiring, and someone on your team is asking: “How do we run background checks?” It sounds like a simple question, but the answer has more moving parts than most business owners expect.

Justworks doesn’t run background checks in-house. They integrate with Checkr, a third-party screening provider, which means the process runs through two platforms simultaneously. That’s not a problem — but it does mean you need to understand how the pieces connect before you have a candidate waiting on an offer.

There’s also a compliance dimension here that a lot of employers underestimate. Using a PEO doesn’t transfer your legal obligations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) or state-level fair chance hiring laws. Those still sit with you as the employer. Justworks and Checkr can help automate parts of the process, but they can’t make the judgment calls for you — and they can’t protect you if you skip steps.

Background check workflows vary significantly across PEO providers. Some bundle screening into their platform more tightly. Others, like Justworks, rely on a partner integration that requires its own setup and configuration. Knowing which model you’re working with changes how you plan your hiring process.

This guide walks through the full mechanics: what Justworks actually offers for screening, how to configure the Checkr integration, how to initiate and manage checks, how to handle results without creating legal exposure, and how to decide whether the built-in option is actually sufficient for your business.

By the end, you’ll have a clear picture of how this works in practice — not just in theory. If you’re also questioning whether Justworks is the right PEO fit overall, this is a good opportunity to think through that too. Background checks are often where operational gaps in a PEO relationship start to show.

Step 1: Understand What Justworks Actually Offers for Background Screening

Let’s start with what you’re actually getting. Justworks integrates with Checkr as its background check provider. This is not a proprietary Justworks product — it’s a third-party partnership. That distinction matters because it affects how you configure the service, where results live, and what support looks like when something goes wrong.

A standard Justworks-facilitated background check through Checkr typically covers criminal history search, SSN trace, and sex offender registry. Those are the core components most employers expect. What often surprises people is what’s not included by default.

Credit history checks: These are available but require additional setup and are subject to state restrictions. Several states limit credit-based screening to specific job types, so you can’t apply them broadly.

Education and employment verification: Not included in base packages. If verifying a candidate’s degree or work history matters for your role, you’ll need to select a higher-tier package or add it separately.

Drug screening: Not part of the Checkr integration through Justworks. If your industry requires pre-employment drug testing, you’ll need a separate vendor relationship for that.

Fingerprint-based checks: Required for certain regulated roles (financial services, healthcare in some states, childcare). The Justworks/Checkr integration doesn’t cover these. You’ll need to go outside the PEO platform entirely.

DOT physicals and motor vehicle records: MVR checks are available through Checkr, but DOT compliance screenings require additional coordination. If you’re hiring commercial drivers, verify what’s actually covered before assuming the integration handles it.

On cost: background checks through Justworks are not bundled into your PEO admin fee. They’re a separate per-check expense, billed based on which Checkr package you select. Pricing varies by tier, and exact figures shift over time, so confirm current rates directly with Justworks or through your Checkr account rather than relying on any third-party source. If you’re wondering whether the overall Justworks PEO is worth it given these added costs, that’s a fair question to explore.

The practical implication is straightforward. If you’re hiring for standard office or administrative roles with no regulatory requirements, the built-in integration is probably fine. If you’re in a regulated industry, hiring for roles with specific screening mandates, or building a large team across multiple states, you may hit the ceiling of what Justworks’ built-in option can handle fairly quickly. Better to know that now than mid-hire.

Step 2: Configure the Checkr Integration Before You Need It

This is the step most businesses skip — or do in a rush when they already have a candidate waiting. Don’t do that. Set up the integration properly before you’re in an active hiring situation.

To get started, log into your Justworks admin dashboard and navigate to the integrations or HR settings section. Justworks surfaces the Checkr integration there. If you don’t already have a Checkr account, you’ll create one through the connection flow. If your company has an existing Checkr account, you can link it. The linking process is straightforward, but make sure the email and company details match to avoid account conflicts. For a deeper look at the platform’s tools, our overview of the Justworks HR technology platform covers what’s available beyond screening.

Once connected, you’ll select a default screening package. Checkr typically offers several tiers, ranging from a basic criminal check to more comprehensive packages that include employment verification, education verification, and additional database searches. Think through what your standard hiring looks like before picking a default. You can run different packages for different roles, but having a sensible default saves time.

The part most small businesses skip entirely is the adjudication matrix. This is your internal framework for how you’ll respond to different types of results. Checkr allows you to configure rules that flag certain findings automatically — but the underlying decisions about what disqualifies a candidate are yours to make, not Checkr’s.

Before you start running checks, answer these questions internally:

What types of criminal history are relevant to the specific role? A financial crime conviction may be directly relevant for a bookkeeping position and completely irrelevant for a warehouse role. The nature of the job should drive the assessment, not a blanket policy.

How old does a record need to be before it’s no longer considered? Many states impose lookback period limitations. Even where they don’t, best practice and EEOC guidance suggest weighing recency as part of any individualized assessment.

Who internally makes the final call on borderline results? Establish this now. You don’t want a hiring manager making a unilateral call on a flagged result without legal review in the moment.

Getting the adjudication framework documented before you run your first check is one of the most protective things you can do from a compliance standpoint. It demonstrates that your process is consistent and job-related — which matters if a hiring decision is ever challenged.

Step 3: Initiate a Background Check for a New Hire

There are two ways to trigger a background check through the Justworks/Checkr integration: through the Justworks onboarding flow, or by ordering one directly through your Checkr dashboard.

The onboarding flow is the cleaner option for most hires. When you initiate onboarding for a new employee in Justworks, there’s a prompt to order a background check as part of that sequence. This keeps everything connected — the candidate’s information flows through, and the check is tied to their profile. For a full walkthrough of that sequence, our guide to the Justworks PEO onboarding process covers each step in detail.

The ad hoc method, ordering directly through Checkr outside of the Justworks flow, is useful if you need to run a check on someone before they’re formally in the onboarding system. Just be aware that results may not automatically sync back to Justworks in a clean way, so you’ll need to manage that manually.

Here’s what happens on the candidate’s side: once you initiate the check, they receive an email from Checkr directly. They’re asked to provide consent electronically, confirm their personal information, and authorize the screening. The process is straightforward, but candidates sometimes find the Checkr email confusing — especially if they don’t recognize the name and expect communication from your company or Justworks. Give candidates a heads-up that they’ll hear from Checkr so they don’t ignore the email or flag it as spam.

The FCRA compliance checkpoint is critical here. Checkr handles the disclosure and authorization form delivery as part of the candidate flow. That’s a genuine help. But you, as the employer, are still the entity responsible for FCRA compliance. If a candidate disputes a result or claims the process wasn’t handled correctly, the legal exposure is yours. Checkr is a consumer reporting agency under FCRA, which means they have their own obligations — but that doesn’t eliminate yours.

The most common compliance mistake at this stage is timing. Many states with ban-the-box laws prohibit employers from initiating a background check until after a conditional offer of employment has been made. Running a check earlier — during the interview process, for example — can violate state law regardless of what your PEO platform allows you to do technically. The system won’t stop you from clicking the wrong button at the wrong time. That’s a judgment call you have to make.

As of 2026, more than 35 states have some form of ban-the-box or fair chance hiring legislation on the books. If you’re hiring in California, New York, Illinois, or several other states with more detailed requirements, review those state-specific rules before you initiate any check. The Justworks platform doesn’t automatically enforce state-specific timing rules for you.

Step 4: Read and Act on Results Without Creating Legal Exposure

Results come back through your Checkr dashboard, which you access either directly or through the Justworks interface. Checkr uses a three-status system: clear, consider, and suspended (or occasionally disputed).

Clear means no reportable findings were returned. You can proceed with the hire.

Consider means something was found that may be relevant. It does not mean disqualify. It means review. This is where your adjudication matrix becomes important — you need a process for evaluating what was found in the context of the specific role.

Suspended or flagged statuses typically mean the check is incomplete or there’s a data issue requiring manual follow-up. These can slow down your timeline, so build buffer into your hiring schedule when possible.

If you decide not to move forward with a candidate based on background check results, FCRA requires a specific sequence before you can finalize that decision. First, you send a pre-adverse action notice, which includes a copy of the report and a summary of the candidate’s rights. Then you wait a reasonable period — typically five business days, though some state laws require longer. During that window, the candidate can dispute inaccurate information. After the waiting period, if you’re still not proceeding, you send a final adverse action notice.

Checkr can automate parts of this process, but you need to enable that functionality and configure it correctly. It doesn’t run automatically out of the box. If you skip the adverse action process entirely, you’re exposed to FCRA liability — and that’s not a theoretical risk. Candidates who’ve been denied employment can file complaints with the CFPB or pursue private legal action. If you run into issues navigating the platform during this process, understanding the Justworks PEO customer support model helps you know where to turn.

State-specific requirements add another layer. California, New York, and Illinois, among others, have individualized assessment requirements that go beyond federal FCRA. These typically require you to evaluate the nature of the offense, how much time has passed, and the nature of the job before making a final decision. These aren’t optional steps — and Justworks doesn’t automatically prompt you through them. You need to know your state’s requirements and build them into your process.

One practical tip: don’t make adverse decisions in the moment. Build a review step with your HR lead or employment counsel for any “consider” result before communicating anything to the candidate. Reactive decisions made under time pressure are where compliance errors happen.

Step 5: Evaluate Whether the Built-In Setup Actually Fits Your Needs

The Justworks/Checkr integration works well for a specific type of employer: small to mid-sized teams, standard office or administrative roles, low-risk positions, and relatively straightforward hiring. If that describes most of your hiring, the built-in option is probably sufficient. It’s convenient, reasonably well-integrated, and handles the basics without requiring you to manage a separate vendor relationship.

But there are clear signals that the built-in setup may not be enough.

You’re in a regulated industry. Healthcare, financial services, childcare, transportation — these sectors often have screening requirements that go beyond what Checkr’s standard packages cover through Justworks. Fingerprinting, professional license verification, OIG exclusion checks, and similar requirements typically need separate solutions.

You need continuous monitoring. Some employers need ongoing criminal monitoring for employees in sensitive roles, not just a one-time pre-employment check. Checkr offers this as a product, but the integration with Justworks for ongoing monitoring is worth verifying against current platform capabilities before assuming it’s available.

You’re hiring across multiple states with different compliance requirements. Managing state-specific ban-the-box rules, lookback periods, and individualized assessment requirements gets complicated fast. The platform doesn’t manage this complexity for you — it just gives you the tools. If your team doesn’t have the HR bandwidth to stay current on multi-state compliance, that’s a real operational risk. It’s worth comparing how other PEO providers handle screening — for example, our guide on background checks through Paychex PEO shows a different approach to the same challenge.

You want to compare pricing. Checkr accessed through Justworks may or may not be priced competitively compared to going direct with Checkr or using an alternative provider like GoodHire, Sterling, or HireRight. The convenience of integration has value, but if you’re running high volumes of checks, it’s worth doing the math. Businesses at the 50-employee mark often find that volume pricing becomes a meaningful factor in their total PEO cost.

If you’re finding the screening options limiting, that’s worth paying attention to. Background check capabilities are one signal among several when evaluating whether a PEO is still the right fit as your business grows. A PEO that works well for a 10-person team may have real gaps for a 50-person team with more complex hiring needs. For a broader look at how PEO providers compare on services and pricing, our PEO comparison resources can help you think through whether you’ve outgrown your current setup.

Putting It All Together: Your Background Check Checklist

Background checks look simple from the outside. They’re not. The Justworks/Checkr integration handles the mechanics reasonably well, but the compliance responsibility stays with you as the employer. That’s true regardless of which PEO you use.

Here’s a quick-reference summary of the five steps:

1. Know what’s included and what’s not. Confirm that the standard Checkr packages through Justworks cover what your roles actually require before you’re mid-hire.

2. Configure the integration before you need it. Set up your Checkr connection, select your default package, and document your adjudication matrix in advance.

3. Initiate checks at the right time. Understand your state’s ban-the-box rules. Don’t trigger a check before a conditional offer in jurisdictions that restrict it.

4. Follow the adverse action process. If you’re not moving forward based on results, FCRA requires pre-adverse action notice, a waiting period, and final adverse action notice. Enable Checkr’s automation for this — but verify it’s configured correctly.

5. Audit your setup annually. State laws change. Your hiring needs change. What worked last year may have gaps today, especially if you’ve expanded into new states or new role types.

The Justworks/Checkr integration is a solid starting point for most small business hiring. But if you’re running into limitations — whether on screening depth, compliance support, or cost — that’s a signal worth acting on. If background check gaps are part of a broader question about whether Justworks is still the right fit, it may be time to compare your options. Most businesses don’t realize how much variation exists in PEO service depth and pricing until they actually look side by side.