Background checks can provide a valuable insight into someone’s past activities. While no one can predict the future and ones past does not necessarily indicate a repeat performance, it can shelter you from any potential legal implications, costs associated with a bad hire such as, training and on boarding or even worse, potential disastrous public relations.
Background checks can also provide your employees a sense of comfort and safety in knowing their colleagues have all been cleared based on the background checks required by your company. It can also push that one valuable highly sort after candidate to your firm knowing that the care for employee’s wellbeing and safety is a priority.
What is important about background checks to note is compliance with the law, Consistency by role or position, applicant privacy and data protection and a written procedure and policy. Other important points may be more client centric importance such as system configurations or systems integrations, user permissions as an example.
We feel a part of the best background check is a company that provides a service, not merely pushing data to their clients. A provider that answers questions and does not raise additional questions. A company that is not offshored, has dedicated client service personnel, answers calls and emails promptly, a company president that has an open-door policy and available to the client, a service that looks at someone’s application as their life not just another piece of paper.
There are many different options available to choose from when your company implements a written background check policy. Background checks can range to a few searches and up from there. A background check company should be able to provide guidance as to the level they feel is most beneficial to the position of the candidate.
County level criminal histories: Identifies felony and/or misdemeanor level conviction. records and arrests pending adjudication in the county requested.
Statewide Criminal Search (not available in all states) Accesses publicly disclosed criminal conviction data held by the designated state criminal records repository.
Federal Criminal Search: Identifies felony and/or misdemeanor level conviction records and arrests pending adjudication in the federal district requested.
Federal, county civil search: A direct search of the U.S. District Court civil indices to determine if a commercial entity or individual has been named as a party (plaintiff or defendant) in a federal civil proceeding.
Education Verification: A direct inquiry with the educational institution (or designated academic record custodian) disclosed by the applicant, to validate claims of attendance, graduation, degree(s) obtained and major course(s) of study.
Employer Verification: A direct inquiry with the current/former employer (or designated employment record custodian) disclosed by the applicant, to validate claims of employment, dates of association, position held, quality of performance and/ or general comments, circumstances of departure and eligibility for rehire.
Professional License Verification: A direct inquiry with the federal and/or state repository with licensing authority of the applicant’s disclosed occupation or professional certification.
Homeland Security (Patriot Act) Search A search to identify individuals that have been named on any of the over 1500 national and international terrorist and fugitive lists
Social Security Number (SSN) Search: Validates that the SSN furnished by applicant has been issued.
I-9 Compliance Search and E-Verify: This search assists employers with I-9 Compliance obligations.
Credit Report Search: A credit report chosen from one of the three national credit reporting bureaus (Experian, Trans-Union or Equifax) that offers insight into an applicant’s fiscal responsibility.
Driving Record Search: A direct report from the state specific Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) repository
Medicaid Sanctions: A search to identify individuals or commercial entities that have had sanctions brought against them for crimes and/or irregularities committed while associated with state and/or federally funded healthcare agencies or programs.
Criminal Comprehensive Search: (includes Violent and Sexual Offender Search) This instant results search identifies individuals who have been assigned to the custody of a contributing states’ department of corrections and other databases. This search is often mischaracterized as a “national or nationwide” criminal check. While the turnaround is instant to us, we will not provide the results of raw data. We will give you an overview of where potential information may have been located. Prior to releasing any information about this we will confirm the legitimacy and accuracy with the court holding the record. We also suggest you review this search with your provider to see what is covered and then ask how it is exactly named a nationwide search.
