Background checks are critical to keeping your business and employees safe. They reveal important information, such as a candidate’s criminal history and driving records.
Most states have laws on pre-employment background checks. These laws limit when employers can check for arrest and conviction records.
Background Checks
Businesses conduct criminal history background check to vet job candidates and ensure that employees and customers are safe. These checks can include reviewing an applicant’s criminal history, credit reports, verification of identity, and more. Business owners can hire a professional company to conduct these searches or do them through various methods, including social media searches, Google name searches, and checking state and national sex offender registries.
Criminal records play a significant role in background checks, but civil documents can also be relevant. Civil records might include a lawsuit, contract dispute, or other legal disagreement that could affect an employer’s ability to hire or retain the employee. A person’s criminal record will appear on a background check, even if the charges were dropped or dismissed. Dismissed cases do not, however, indicate a lack of guilt, and employers are encouraged to assess convictions in light of the severity individually, the time passed since the incident, and how it relates to the specific job for which the candidate is applying.
An employer needs to get consent from the applicant before running a background check. Employers must also inform applicants that the results of the examination can be used to make an adverse decision, and they’re required by federal law to notify candidates if their application is being withdrawn or rejected due to a background check report.
Criminal Record Checks
Criminal record checks are the cornerstone of most employer background check vetting processes. They include a search of state and national criminal records databases and the federal sex offender registry. These searches are challenging and require contacting multiple government agencies and manually searching through the results. However, using the finest background check services makes these searches fast, accurate, and straightforward.
These checks reveal a candidate’s criminal history, including past convictions and pending cases. Still, they also provide valuable information that may not show up on an applicant’s record, such as arrests that never resulted in a conviction. Employers can also determine if an applicant is subject to probation or parole.
An excellent criminal record check will also indicate whether an applicant has a valid Social Security number and whether or not they are legally permitted to work in the country. In addition, the check can reveal any outstanding warrants.
Some states have laws that limit the lookback period of criminal records on a background check to seven years. Similarly, some cities and counties have ban-the-box and fair hiring laws that restrict when employers can ask for and consider the results of these checks. An experienced CRA can monitor these changes and help companies ensure their background check procedures comply with applicable laws.
Reference Checks
You should check a person’s background before a job interview. These checks are often done to verify a resume or job application information. However, they can also be used to weed out dishonest candidates. Knowing what these types of checks can uncover is essential, as they should be conducted carefully and within legal limits.
It’s important to note that criminal records do not necessarily include all of an applicant’s arrest and conviction history. The specific rules regarding how far back a background check can vary by state. In some states, for example, the law only permits a search of felony and misdemeanor convictions in the past seven years.
The process of running a reference check varies by company and situation. Still, it typically involves contacting an applicant’s professional references and asking questions about the position for which they are applying. It may include discussing their work history, education, training, and skills. Having a set of pre-approved reference questions can help streamline the process.
Many job applicants now run their background checks before a job interview as a form of self-prevention. It can allow them to be more confident about the results that a potential employer will see, and it can also help them be more honest during the interview.
Drug Testing
Drug testing is a standard part of hiring in some industries, particularly those with high-risk jobs, like airlines and pilots, trucking, railway, and caregiving. This testing can prevent a company from losing revenue from missed work due to employee absenteeism and decreased productivity caused by drug abuse in the workplace.
Employers can use drug screening to identify potential employees with substance abuse problems and make their employment offer contingent on passing a drug test. However, New York law requires that employers notify candidates of their right to privacy by requiring them to sign a consent form before conducting the test. This notice must be separate from the background check consent form.
Drug screening results are typically available within three days of submitting a sample to a lab, depending on the type of test used and the specimen type. Rapid tests require urine or saliva samples and are often available within 4 hours. If an employee’s screen is positive, a confirmatory test is needed.
It’s important to note that while an employer can test for a variety of substances, only those that are illegal in the state where your business is located can be penalized. Prescription drugs and marijuana are two such examples.
