EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND CHECKS

Employment Background Checks In Colorado

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

Updated 05/2021

Colorado Supreme Court: Employers can fire for off-duty pot use

According to an article in the Denver Post By ALICIA WALLACE | awallace@denverpost.com and JORDAN STEFFEN | jsteffen@denverpost.com

PUBLISHED: June 15, 2015 at 2:44 am | UPDATED: October 2, 2016 at 5:05 pm

Employers’ zero-tolerance drug policies trump Colorado’s medical marijuana laws, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday.  

In a 6-0 decision, the high court affirmed lower court rulings that businesses can fire employees for the use of medical marijuana — even if it’s off-duty.

With the ruling, which was a blow to some medical marijuana patients and a sigh of relief to employers, Colorado became the first state to provide guidance on a gray area of the law.

The decision came nine months after the state’s highest court heard oral arguments in Brandon Coats’ case against Dish Network.

Coats became quadriplegic in a car accident and used marijuana to control leg spasms.

He had a medical marijuana card and consumed pot off-duty.

 He was fired in 2010 after failing a random drug test.

When the case went to the state Supreme Court, legal observers said the case could have significant implications for employers across Colorado.

They noted that the ruling also could be precedent-setting as Colorado and other states wrangle with adapting laws to a nascent industry that is illegal under federal law.

Colorado Use Of Social Media In Hiring:

Colorado: Prohibits employers from requiring an employee or applicant to disclose a username, password or other means of accessing a personal account, unless an employer is conducting an investigation for legal compliance purposes (2013)

For employment, including hiring, promotion, or termination.

Employers also cannot ask about convictions that have been sealed, expunged, or statutorily eradicated or about any misdemeanor convictions for which probation has been successfully completed or otherwise discharged and the case has been judicially dismissed.

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

Colorado

Arrest: Colorado law prohibits employers from requiring applicants to disclose information contained in sealed arrest records. Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-72-308. According to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, questions concerning arrests are not permitted and are considered discriminatory.

Colorado Pre-employment Inquiry Guidelines
Conviction:

Colorado law prohibits employers from requiring applicants to disclose information contained in sealed conviction records.

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-72-308. According to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission, inquiries about convictions are limited to those that are job-related.

Colorado Pre-employment Inquiry Guidelines

We provide employment screening and employment background check services for Denver, Boulder, Fort Collins, Vail, Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, Telluride and all other Colorado cities.

We provide employment screening services for hospitals, nursing homes, franchised auto dealers, staffing companies, employee leasing companies, PEO’s, trucking and transportation companies, banks, high tech companies, insurance companies and all other employers in all Colorado cities.

National Employment Screening provides professional pre employment screening services which is the first line of defense for Colorado employers. to help you protect your employees and clients from the costly effects of making a “Bad Hire.”

All of our reports are FCRA compliant

Call anytime to get more information about our Colorado Employment screening services at 800.459.3034.

Giving Employment References in Colorado:

Colorado has laws that protect employers as long as what they say is true.

Colorado pre employment screening law states that:

On request of a current or former employee or a prospective employer, an employer providing job history or job-performance information to a prospective employer is immune from civil liability for the disclosure.

Job performance is separately defined to include suitability of the employee for reemployment; work related skills, abilities, and habits; and the reason for separation.

The immunity is removed when false and when the employer knew or reasonably should have known that the information was false. (See Colo. Rev. Stat. §8-2-114.)

Colorado employment screening law restricts vendor reporting of criminal conviction information to seven years:

Colorado Reporting Limitations (Enacted January 1, 1996)

CRS 12-14.3-105.3

No CRA may report records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of crime, which from date of disposition, release, or parole, antedate the report by more than seven years.

Colorado At Will Employment Law

While generally an at will state, Colorado has two exceptions to the at-will rule based upon the legal principles of “public policy” and “implied contract.”

First, the public policy exception simply means that an employee cannot be fired for performing a legal duty or exercising a legal right.

Second, a binding employment relationship may be found to have been created by an implied or an express contract.

The contract theory usually arises in situations in which procedures outlined in personnel handbooks are construed as a contract between the employer and employee.

Colorado Employment screening statutes: denying employment

Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-5-101.

The intention of the statute provides: expanding employment opportunities for those who “have been rehabilitated and are ready to accept the responsibilities of a law-abiding and productive member of society.” Thus, the fact of having a conviction may not, in and of itself, bar licensing or employment.

Colorado law provides that a felony conviction or other offense involving “moral turpitude” shall not act as an automatic bar to obtaining public employment or an occupational license.

The statute does not apply to certain positions, including law enforcement and jobs working with vulnerable populations.

Pre employment screening and employee background check services available to Colorado employers:

We explain-You decide the employment screening background checks that are right for you. (Click on each link for more information)

1. Get Signed Permission

For a sample form and tips on checking with prior employers: 

Click Here

2. Ask as many questions as the previous employer will allow. Just getting dates of employment  doesn’t tell you much about the applicant.

3. Point out any employer shield laws your state may have that protect employers from lawsuits if they give out information that is correct.

Remember, a prior employer can sometimes face serious liability for not disclosing factual and relevant information about a prior employee.

Please visit our site map for employer shield laws and other employment screening tips that may apply.

Find the state you are looking for and click on that state’s employment screening link. 

4. Have a carefully prepared list of questions you would like to ask.

5. Be sure they are questions that are allowed and that pertain to the job and are not illegal questions.

6. Only allow employees that are familiar with employment laws to participate in the interview process.

Colorado Employment screening statutes: denying employment  Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24-5-101.

The intention of the statute provides: expanding employment opportunities for those who “have been rehabilitated and are ready to accept the responsibilities of a law-abiding and productive member of society.”

Thus, the fact of having a conviction may not, in and of itself, bar licensing or employment.Colorado law provides that a felony conviction or other offense involving “moral turpitude” shall not act as an automatic bar to obtaining public employment or an occupational license.

The statute does not apply to certain positions, including law enforcement and jobs working with vulnerable populations.

Pre employment screening and employee background check services available to Colorado employers:

We explain-You decide the employment screening background checks that are right for you.

(Click on each link for more information)

Please note that Federal employment screening law mandates background checks for employees who are engaged in particular industries. 

The Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services maintains a list of individuals who are excluded from participation in any of its federally-funded healthcare programs.

Exclusions are due to convictions for program-related fraud and patient abuse, licensing board actions and default on health education assistance loans.

Therefore, employers in affected industries should check the OIG Exclusion list before hiring employees who might work in such programs.

The FACIS program is also very important when screening medical personnel.
Click Here for more information on FACIS®

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 makes the background check process fast and easy.

Please   Click   or call for more information.

Call Us now at    800-459-3034  and begin ordering instant driving records and background checks within minutes or:

A price list will be promptly e-mailed to you.

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