The use of criminal background checks (CBCs) – requests for information on previous convictions during the employment recruitment process – is growing worldwide. This article seeks to explain the proliferation in CBCs by examining whether novel legislation introducing mandatory requests for some jobs also leads to an increase in requests for CBCs for jobs outside the scope of the law. The present research makes use of survey data collected from individuals requesting criminal records certificates before and after the introduction of new CBC regulation in Spain – EU Directive 93/2011/EU – which established the obligation to request a criminal record certificate covering sexual crimes for jobs involving frequent contact with children. The analysis detects only a small and unsustained growth in non-mandatory checks following introduction of the new law. However, the results suggest that the danger of the new legislation lies in employers requesting certificates with a higher level of disclosure than is required for the positions on which checks were made mandatory by the new law. In addition, the growth in non-mandatory CBCs observed during this period seems to be related not to the new legislation but to the emergence of tech companies, raising alarm regarding the role of novel forms of policy mobility and the new collaborative economy in limiting the re-entry of individuals with criminal records to the labour market.

犯罪背景调查（CBC）的使用-在就业招聘过程中要求获得有关先前定罪的信息-在全球范围内正在增长。本文试图通过研究引入强制性要求某些工作的新立法是否还会导致对CBC的法律范围之外的需求增加来解释CBC的激增。本研究利用了在西班牙引入新的CBC法规之前和之后从要求犯罪记录证书的个人收集的调查数据–欧盟指令93/2011 / EU –该法律规定了要求获得涵盖工作中性犯罪的犯罪记录证书的义务涉及经常与孩子接触。引入新法律后，该分析仅在非强制性支票中发现了少量且不可持续的增长。但是，结果表明，新法规的危险在于，雇主要求披露的证书要比新法律强制执行检查的职位要求更高的披露水平。此外，在此期间观察到的非强制性CBC的增长似乎与新立法无关，而与科技公司的出现有关，这引起了人们对新型政策流动性和新的合作经济在限制经济增长中的作用的警觉。将具有犯罪记录的个人重新进入劳动力市场。结果表明，新法规的危险在于，雇主要求披露的证书要比新法律规定必须强制检查的职位公开程度更高。此外，在此期间观察到的非强制性CBC的增长似乎与新立法无关，而与科技公司的出现有关，这引起了人们对新型政策流动性和新的合作经济在限制经济增长中的作用的警觉。将具有犯罪记录的个人重新进入劳动力市场。结果表明，新法规的危险在于，雇主要求披露的证书要比新法律规定必须强制检查的职位公开程度更高。此外，在此期间观察到的非强制性CBC的增长似乎与新立法无关，而与科技公司的出现有关，这引起了人们对新型政策流动性和新的合作经济在限制经济增长中的作用的警觉。将具有犯罪记录的个人重新进入劳动力市场。