Employment Screening Services Questions Answered

Various Pre-Employment Screening And Background Check Services are explained below.

 Our services are not available to individuals.
These employment screening services are only available to businesses.

When it  comes to hiring employees, the logic of Trust But Verify seems to apply when it comes to employment screening services. All businesses and organizations of any size should screen prospective employees for criminal records and verify all other background information submitted by the applicant.

This is the best way to protect their employees and the public from hiring someone with a serious criminal record that could result in significant harm or damage to the company.

When a negligent hiring lawsuit is filed, often it seems the best defense may be proof that the company conducted a thorough criminal record as background check as part of the employment screening process before they hired someone.
Applicant History.

‘The  extent a private employer may consider an applicant’s criminal history in making hiring decisions can differ from state to state. Legislatures often try to enact legislation limiting the rights of employers to consider an applicant’s criminal history if it does not directly apply to the position applied for. You should familiarize yourself and consult with professionals with regard to any governing laws in your state.

Other employment screening services, for example credential verifications such as college degrees, past employment verifications or licenses held, are the best method of determining inaccurate or misrepresented information on employment applications.

As this can be one of the most time consuming tasks in a Human Resources Department, and many HR departments have found it to be cost effective to have a professional employment screening service that does credential verifications complete this part of the employment screening process.

The following list contains the types of pre-employment screening services that employers often rely on as part of an employment screening background check.

Businesses using an employment screening company must obtain an employee’s written consent before seeking:

Criminal Records Background Check Screening
The two  major criminal record background checks most often used by businesses are the:

“Criminal Record Smart Search®
and the
“Criminal record Smart Search Plus®.” 

Both provide extensive nationwide criminal record searches and include a a check of all the Federal criminal record watch lists, a check of the sec x offender registry (SOR) in all 50 states.

The “Criminal record Smart Search Plus®.” includes all of these searches and also includes a check of all Federal criminal record repositories in all states in which the applicant has lived for the past 7 years. Up to 10 percent of all criminal records will be found in the Federal criminal system, so the “Criminal record Smart Search Plus®.” is an important and very thorough criminal record background check.

Other organizations such as health care providers will want to also check the FACIS®
(Fraud and Abuse Control Information Systems) for records of sanctions or other violations.

Note: Bankruptcies are a matter of public record and may appear on an individual’s credit report. The Federal Bankruptcy Act prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants because they have filed for bankruptcy.

If you decide not to hire or promote someone based on information in the credit or criminal record report, you must provide a copy of the report and let the applicant know of his or her right to challenge the report under the FCRA.

Legally Compliant

Visit the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection’s website for more information.

Under no circumstance can you discuss information contained in a consumer credit report with the applicant. Always refer them to the credit reporting agency for discussion or dispute.

Medical Records

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers cannot discriminate based on a physical or mental impairment or request an employee’s medical records. Businesses can, however, inquire about an applicant’s ability to perform specific job duties. Some states also have stronger laws protecting the confidentiality of medical records.

For Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) checks, consult these resources:

Employment Screening Polygraph / Lie Detector Tests

Most private employers are prohibited from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment.

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act

The law includes a list of exceptions that apply to businesses that provide armored car services, alarm or guard services, or those that manufacture, distribute, or dispense pharmaceuticals.

Even though there is no federal law specifically prohibiting you from using a written honesty test on job applicants, some of these tests may violate federal and state laws that protect against discrimination and violations of privacy.

Military Service Employment Screening

See our page on obtaining Military Records by  Clicking here.
Military service records may be released only under limited circumstances, and consent is generally required. The military may, however, disclose name, rank, salary, duty assignments, awards and duty status without the service member’s consent.

Workers’ Compensation Records Employment Screening

Information from a workers’ compensation claims history may be used only in very limited circumstances such as job assignments. State laws vary on the use of workers’ compensation records and some will not allow access at all.

School Records

These always require a release signed by the applicant.

Under the  Family Educational Rights and Privacy Actand similar state laws, educational records such as transcripts, recommendations and financial information are confidential and will require the signed release before being disclosed.

Also, most Schools and Universities outsource the access to these records to a third part company. Almost all charge a fee for confirming or accessing these records. Any such fees are added to the cost of the credential verification but are never incurred without your express consent.

Annual Employment Re-Screening Services Considering that over 11 million people are arrested every year, it seems wise to make an annual re-screening of all employees one of the main employment screening services to use.

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 does make the background check process fast and easy.

Please   Click   or call for more information.

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

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