EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND CHECKS

Arizona (AZ) Employment Background Checks

All pre-employment background check services including employment drug screening and employment criminal record background checks are available in Arizona.

Updated 05/2020

Recent ruling concerning release forms by ninth circuit.

Single combined state and Federal release forms no longer adequate.

Employers conducting background checks in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana Nevada, Oregon and Washington State should be aware of this ruling and take steps to comply with this ruling.

In Gilberg v. Cal. Check Cashing Stores, LLC, No. 17-16263, 2019 WL 347027 (Ninth Cir. Jan. 29, 2019), the Ninth Circuit held a single form combining nearly identical federal and state disclosures violates both federal and state laws.

Employers who conduct pre-employment background checks must now provide applicants with two separate standalone forms: (1) disclosure and consent under Fair Credit Reporting Act; and (2) disclosure and consent under California’s Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (or other applicable state law).

CLEAR AND CONSPICUOUS LANGUAGE

By including release/authorization language related to the required state form, or any other required disclosure or release, the court also ruled that the combination form violated the FCRA because it contained “extraneous information and was as likely to confuse as it was to inform.”

The court also found that the CheckSmart Financial LLC, release form also contained language that a reasonable person would not understand.

Specifically, the court cited this sentence: “The scope of this notice and authorization is all-encompassing; however, allowing CheckSmart Financial, LLC to obtain from any outside organization all manner of consumer reports and investigative consumer reports now and, if you are hired, throughout the course of your employment to the extent permitted by law.”

First, the court found that this sentence did not explain how the notice was all-encompassing.

Moreover, it did not disclose the impact that authorization would have on a prospective employee’s rights.
In addition, the court cited the portion of the sentence after the semicolon.

It found that it was incomplete, lacked a subject and that the drafting may have caused confusion as to the possible limits of the authorization

What should employers do?

1.    Obviously, Avoid Combining Any Other Release Or Disclosure Forms
2.    Use Standalone Easy To Read and Understand documents only
3.    Use Large Font, at least 12 point
4.    Separate Subjects In The disclosure Language With Bold Title Headers
5.    Use Plain Language And Avoid Legal Terminology

Our criminal records Smart Search Plus®  has become the industry standard for a quality criminal records background check.

It includes an unlimited check of the Federal criminal records repositories in the states where the applicant has lived for the past 7 years.

It also includes a check of any needed state and county criminal records checks as well as a social security number address history trace, a multi-state criminal records database search and a check of of the sex offender registry in all 50 states. .

It is the criminal records background check now chosen by most of our clients. For a brief overview of all of our employment screening services, please Click Here

All of our reports are FCRA compliant.

A current AZ county criminal records records background check is recommended for the most up to date and complete employment screening background check information.

Arizona Courts
Court records of statewide felony and misdemeanor dispositions from all counties except Pima and Maricopa since 1988. Records on over 5,600,000 persons.

Results show the file date, disposition date, county, case number, defendant name, DOB, race, sex, charge(s), dispositions and sentence. Records updated monthly.

Arizona Dept of Corrections
Corrections records of statewide felony criminal convictions and guilty pleas on persons who have been sentenced to serve time at a state facility since 1985.
Records on approximately 150,000 persons. Results may include the date of crime, county, case number, defendant name, DOB, race, sex, height, weight, FBI number, charge(s), and sentence. Records updated monthly.

Arizona Sex Offender
Data is only provided for sex offenders released from jail/prison or sentenced to probation on or after June 1,1996 with risk assessment scores of Level 2 (Intermediate) or Level 3 (High). Data includes over 1000 Sex Offender photographs. Updated Monthly.

Our Automated Employment Screening provides an applicant controlled process that allows FCRA compliant background check forms, including Electronic Chain-Of-custody forms and releases to be completed online by the applicant.

We provide several short videos to easily acquaint you with the system.
This really makes the background check process fast and easy.

Please Click or call  for more information.

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