When a background check comes back with a decisional status, it means the screening company found something that doesn’t fit cleanly into the employer’s automatic pass or fail rules, so a person on the hiring team has to review it before the process moves forward. Decisional is not a rejection. It is not even necessarily bad news. It is a pause for human judgment.
What Decisional Actually Means
Most screening companies run results through an adjudication matrix, a rulebook the employer sets up ahead of time that sorts findings into automatic categories. When something falls outside those pre-set rules, the system labels the result “decisional” rather than resolving it on its own. The employer’s hiring team then looks at the flagged item alongside your application and the full background report before deciding what to do.
The screening company does not make the call. The employer does. That distinction matters, because the rights and obligations that kick in from this point forward sit with the employer, not the vendor that produced the report.
What Usually Triggers a Decisional Result
Criminal records are the most common trigger, especially older or minor offenses where the connection to the job isn’t obvious. A misdemeanor from a decade ago might not automatically disqualify you but still needs someone to weigh whether it matters for the specific role.
Discrepancies in employment history are another frequent cause: different job titles, mismatched start or end dates, or gaps that don’t line up with what you reported. Educational credentials that can’t be verified exactly as stated land in the same bucket.
For jobs involving money or financial responsibility, credit-related findings such as outstanding judgments, collections, or a pattern of serious delinquencies can trigger manual review. Expired or suspended professional licenses, disciplinary actions from licensing boards, and even small inconsistencies in personal information like name variations or prior addresses that don’t match your application can all push a result into decisional status.
How Employers Are Supposed to Evaluate It
When a criminal record drives the decisional flag, employers are not supposed to treat it as an automatic disqualifier. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s enforcement guidance directs employers to weigh three factors, known as the Green factors after the court case that established them, before making a decision based on criminal history:
- The seriousness of the offense. What actually happened matters more than whether it was labeled a felony or a misdemeanor. Low-level drug possession and embezzlement carry different weight.
- How much time has passed. The older the offense, the less relevant it becomes. Blanket policies that permanently exclude anyone with any conviction do not hold up under this standard.
- The nature of the job. A theft conviction is far more relevant for a position handling cash or confidential financial data than for a role with no access to money or sensitive information.
The EEOC also recommends employers give you an individualized assessment, meaning a real chance to explain the circumstances before a final decision. That involves notifying you that your criminal history raised a concern, letting you provide context like rehabilitation, steady work since the offense, or character references, and actually considering what you provide.1U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
This is where most decisional outcomes actually get resolved. An employer who follows the process often learns that a decade-old conviction was followed by years of steady work in a similar role with no issues. That kind of context regularly tips the scales toward the applicant.
What You Can Do While It’s Pending
A decisional status is not a sit-and-wait moment. You have rights worth exercising right away.
You can request a free copy of your background check report from the screening company so you can see exactly what the employer received. If anything is wrong, a conviction that isn’t yours, an arrest that should have aged off, employment dates that are garbled, you have the right to dispute that information directly with the screening company. Once you file a dispute, the company must investigate and either correct or delete inaccurate information within 30 days. That window can be extended by up to 15 additional days if you provide new information during the initial 30-day period, unless the agency has already determined the information is inaccurate or unverifiable.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681i – Procedure in Case of Disputed Accuracy
Even when the information on your report is technically accurate, context matters. Write a short, factual explanation of what happened, how long ago it was, and what you have done since. Employers conducting an individualized assessment are supposed to consider that kind of evidence, and many do.
If the Employer Decides Against You
If the employer reviews the decisional result and decides not to hire you based on what the background check found, federal law requires a two-step notification process. They cannot simply go quiet.
Pre-Adverse Action Notice
Before taking any negative action, the employer must send you a pre-adverse action notice that includes a copy of your background check report and a written summary of your rights under federal law.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1681b – Permissible Purposes of Consumer Reports The purpose is to give you a chance to review the information, spot errors, and respond before the decision becomes final. Federal law does not set a specific waiting period between the pre-adverse notice and the final decision, though the FTC has informally recommended at least five business days as a reasonable interval.4Bloomberg Law. Employment, Overview – Taking Adverse Action in Compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
Final Adverse Action Notice
If the employer still decides to reject you after the waiting period, they must send a final adverse action notice. It has to include the name, address, and phone number of the screening company, a statement that the screening company did not make the hiring decision, your right to get a free copy of the report from that company within 60 days, and your right to dispute any information you believe is inaccurate.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 US Code 1681m – Requirements on Users of Consumer Reports
Employers sometimes try to combine both notices into one or send them at the same time. Courts have consistently found that approach violates the law. The whole structure depends on your getting a real window to review and respond before the final decision.
Fair Chance Hiring Laws
Separate from federal background check rules, 37 states and over 150 cities and counties have adopted fair chance hiring laws, often called “ban the box” laws, that restrict when employers can ask about criminal history. These laws generally remove conviction questions from job applications and delay background checks until later in the hiring process, typically after a conditional offer. More than 267 million people in the United States live in a jurisdiction with some form of fair chance policy.
The strongest versions require employers to consider the same factors the EEOC recommends, the seriousness of the offense, time passed, and evidence of rehabilitation, before withdrawing an offer based on a criminal record.1U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act If your decisional result is tied to criminal history and you live in a jurisdiction with one of these laws, you may have protections beyond the federal baseline. Checking your state or city’s rules is worth the time.