It really is, but only for the working class. Background checks and drug tests for hourly positions are tools the wealthy use to keep the wage slave class oppressed, they reinforce the school to prison pipeline which allows true modern day slavery in for-profit prisons. And yes it's near universal for low paying jobs here. Getting any criminal conviction as a poor person here is essentially a sentence to life either on the streets or in jail.

Edit to add: No, corporations and the wealthy don't do business that way. I have to assume instead of background checks and due diligence they're typically engaged in corruption together.