Background Checks

What is a background check?

A background check is a process a person or company uses to check a person’s criminal record, education, employment history, and other past activities in order to confirm their validity and make informed decisions. Whether you’re applying for a job, looking for a new apartment, or purchasing a firearm, you may have to undergo a background check.

GoodHire is an accredited professional background screener and FCRA-compliant consumer reporting agency (CRA) offering background checks for employment—employers use our screening services to make informed hiring and employment decisions about job candidates and employees.

How do background checks work?

Background checks start with verification of an individual’s identity based on the information they provide, including date of birth and Social Security number. Then searches are conducted using a variety of public databases and court records depending on the type of information sought.

In addition to database checks, some searches will require specialists to manually contact employers and other organizations, such as educational institutions. To ensure maximum possible accuracy, GoodHire’s team of specialists manually reviews results with alerts, providing extra assurance that employers are making decisions based on accurate, legally reportable data.

GoodHire’s process is customer- and candidate-friendly. It uses a user-friendly digital and mobile-optimized process that includes candidate consent, ongoing updates and easy access to information for both employers and candidates.

With GoodHire, both employers (HR teams, hiring managers, recruiters) and candidates receive status updates and full copies of results. A user-friendly dashboard makes it easy to review and understand results so employers and hiring managers can make informed decisions. Candidates also have the ability to dispute any inaccurate information and to append additional information to the results to provide context or explanation.

What is a pre-employment background check?

Employers run background checks to avoid hiring someone who may pose a threat to the workplace or become a liability to the employer. Ninety-four percent (94%) of employers conduct one or more types of employment background screening, according to HR.com.

A pre-employment background check typically takes place when someone applies for a job, but rescreening can also happen at any time the employer deems necessary. For example, an employer may require annual or semi-annual employment drug testing or criminal background checks for their employees to help create a safe and secure workplace.

To run a pre-employment background screen, the employer needs the candidate’s full name, date of birth, Social Security number (SSN), and current or past address, as well as the candidate’s consent to run the check.Typically, a background check for employment includes information and records from the past seven years, although some states go back farther. Learn more about how far back background checks go in your state.

What is a criminal records check?

A criminal background check is often required in situations where a person or organization needs to know about major criminal activity, including violent or sex crimes, fraud, embezzlement, or felony convictions before making a decision regarding employment, adoption, military enlistment, a firearm purchase, and more.

Eighty-three percent (83%) of employers who run background checks are looking for criminal records that may indicate whether the candidate could pose a threat to customers or create an unsafe work environment.

Depending on the industry, such as healthcare, there may be regulations against hiring certain felons if their conviction is relevant to the job.

A criminal record check may include the following record searches, depending on the positions the organization is hiring for, and the industry they’re in:

• National criminal databases
• Sex offender registries
• County criminal courts
• Domestic and global watch lists
• Federal and state criminal records

Background check providers like GoodHire offer a variety of screens that search different databases, including federal, state, and county criminal records in addition to national databases.Looking for a criminal background check? GoodHire is the best background check site for national, federal, state and county criminal checks.

What can be revealed in a background check?

A background check service can reveal a wide range of information about an employee’s past relative to their work history, education, criminal history and more. Since there are many different types of checks available, employers will choose which checks to run based on the positions they’re hiring for and the type of information that’s important for them to make an informed choice.

For example:

• Employment verification to determine whether the employee actually held the jobs they indicated.
• Education verification to ensure the employee received a degree or credentials related to the job they applied for.
• Criminal history background checks to see if there is anything in the applicant’s history that might indicate a risk to the employer, its other employees or customers.

Background screening may also be used to check an applicant’s credit history, determine whether they hold certain professional licenses required for the job, test for illicit drug use, etc.

Which compliance laws should I know about?

All employers conducting background checks need to comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), follow Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance, and adhere to state and local ban-the-box laws, where applicable.

The FCRA requires employers to receive permission from candidates to conduct a background check in writing. The FCRA also has requirements related to adverse action rules employers must follow if the report reveals information that may negatively impact the hiring decision.

EEOC guidance seeks to prevent employers from conducting background checks in a manner that could deny equal opportunity to job applicants in accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, based on protected categories such as age, race, color, national origin, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity, as the Supreme Court recently ruled), religion, and disability.

Ban-the-box laws emerged in 1998. Hawaii was the first state to pass a law prohibiting the practice of employers asking job applicants about their criminal history information until after a conditional offer is made. Since then, a number of other states have followed, with a focus on removing barriers that make it difficult for people with criminal records to get jobs.

Compliance laws vary by state; it’s important to be aware of the laws that impact your company based both on its locations and where employees live. GoodHire eases the burden of compliance by automating many compliance workflows, saving you time and giving you confidence that nothing will be missed.

Disclaimer

The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. We advise you to consult your own counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.