diff --git a/pkg/worker/lifecycle.go b/pkg/worker/lifecycle.go
index 99f2b186b..4de2d5fc9 100644
--- a/pkg/worker/lifecycle.go
+++ b/pkg/worker/lifecycle.go
@@ -372,7 +372,7 @@ func (s *Worker) getContainerEnvironment(request *types.ContainerRequest, option
 		fmt.Sprintf("CONTAINER_ID=%s", request.ContainerId),
 		fmt.Sprintf("BETA9_GATEWAY_HOST=%s", os.Getenv("BETA9_GATEWAY_HOST")),
 		fmt.Sprintf("BETA9_GATEWAY_PORT=%s", os.Getenv("BETA9_GATEWAY_PORT")),
-		fmt.Sprintf("CHECKPOINT_ENABLED=%t", request.CheckpointEnabled),
+		fmt.Sprintf("CHECKPOINT_ENABLED=%t", request.CheckpointEnabled && s.checkpointingAvailable),
 		"PYTHONUNBUFFERED=1",
 	}
 
@@ -494,17 +494,20 @@ func (s *Worker) spawn(request *types.ContainerRequest, spec *specs.Spec, output
 	pidChan := make(chan int, 1)
 	go s.collectAndSendContainerMetrics(ctx, request, spec, pidChan)
 
-	// If checkpointing is enabled, attempt to create a checkpoint
-	state, createCheckpoint := s.shouldCreateCheckpoint(request)
-	if s.checkpointingAvailable && createCheckpoint {
-		go s.createCheckpoint(ctx, request)
-	} else if s.checkpointingAvailable && state.Status == types.CheckpointStatusAvailable {
-		processState, err := s.cedanaClient.Restore(ctx, state.ContainerId)
-		if err != nil {
-			log.Printf("<%s> - failed to restore checkpoint: %v\n", request.ContainerId, err)
-		}
+	if request.CheckpointEnabled && s.checkpointingAvailable {
+		state, createCheckpoint := s.shouldCreateCheckpoint(request)
+
+		// If checkpointing is enabled, attempt to create a checkpoint
+		if s.checkpointingAvailable && createCheckpoint {
+			go s.createCheckpoint(ctx, request)
+		} else if state.Status == types.CheckpointStatusAvailable {
+			processState, err := s.cedanaClient.Restore(ctx, state.ContainerId)
+			if err != nil {
+				log.Printf("<%s> - failed to restore checkpoint: %v\n", request.ContainerId, err)
+			}
 
-		log.Printf("<%s> - checkpoint found and restored, process state: %+v\n", request.ContainerId, processState)
+			log.Printf("<%s> - checkpoint found and restored, process state: %+v\n", request.ContainerId, processState)
+		}
 	}
 
 	// Invoke runc process (launch the container)
@@ -606,27 +609,20 @@ waitForReady:
 }
 
 // shouldCreateCheckpoint checks if a checkpoint should be created for a given container
-func (s *Worker) shouldCreateCheckpoint(request *types.ContainerRequest) (*types.CheckpointState, bool) {
+func (s *Worker) shouldCreateCheckpoint(request *types.ContainerRequest) (types.CheckpointState, bool) {
 	if !s.checkpointingAvailable || !request.CheckpointEnabled {
-		return nil, false
+		return types.CheckpointState{}, false
 	}
 
 	state, err := s.containerRepo.GetCheckpointState(request.Workspace.Name, request.StubId)
 	if err != nil {
-		// Checkpoint is enabled, but no checkpoint state found, attempt a checkpoint
-		if _, ok := err.(*types.ErrCheckpointNotFound); ok {
-			return &types.CheckpointState{Status: types.CheckpointStatusNotFound}, true
+		if _, ok := err.(*types.ErrCheckpointNotFound); !ok {
+			return types.CheckpointState{}, false
 		}
 
-		return nil, false
-	}
-
-	if state.Status == types.CheckpointStatusAvailable {
-		return state, false
-	} else if state.Status == types.CheckpointStatusFailed {
-		return state, false
+		// If checkpoint not found, we can proceed to create one
+		return types.CheckpointState{Status: types.CheckpointStatusNotFound}, true
 	}
 
-	// TODO: figure out this case
-	return state, false
+	return *state, false
 }