What You Need to Know About Pre-employment Background Checks!

Don't let a mistake from the past disrupt your career of the future. Now more than ever, people are changing jobs or looking for work. More so out of necessity than by choice. The applicant pools are bigger than ever so companies can be more selective in their hiring decisions.
More than eighty percent of employers do some type of background screening on new employees. I’ve been in the background screening industry for over thirteen years and in that time I’ve conducted tens of thousands of these background checks.
The fact is, one out of eight people have a criminal history. If you take into consideration all aspects of a background check such as past employment, education and professional licensing, you’ll find that the number of applications with (purposeful) misinformation increases to between 35 and 40 percent.
People call our offices all the time to see if we can run a background check on them before their potential employer does. They want to know if that misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge from college is going to show up on their record. They want to see what the manager they didn’t get along with is going to say about them when the new potential employer calls for a reference.
Below I’ve listed some important information that you should know about your background check and I try to clear up some common misconceptions. Keep in mind that there is no such thing as a standard background check. Every company does varying degrees of background checks determined by the position, and based on what they’re willing to spend per applicant on due diligence.

Important Points About Employment Background Checks

1) Criminal Records

Read the application carefully. It most likely asks if you’ve been convicted of a crime, not arrested. There’s no need to report arrests that did not result in convictions if the application does not ask for this information. Many will argue that an employer cannot legally ask if you’ve been arrested; however 36 states do allow arrest information to be factored into the hiring decision. Check with your state’s department of employment security to know for certain.

• Often, people aren’t sure if their arrest resulted in a conviction. Simply put, if you plead guilty to a crime, then it is technically a conviction, even if you received probation or supervision. If you were found innocent, the case was dismissed, or there was no probable cause, “nolle pros” then the case is not a conviction. There are a couple of rare exceptions to this based on individual state laws.
• Never assume a case has been expunged unless you actually paid an attorney to file for expungement and it was approved by a judge, or you filed the proper documents yourself. Applicants frequently call our office when they don’t get hired as a result of their background check and say “I thought that case was expunged”. If you did not go through the procedure of filing for an expungement and have it approved, then the record is still available to see.

Employers are NOT limited to 7 years on a criminal record search. Some states have their own Fair Credit Reporting Act rules that limit what crimes are reportable past seven years, often based on the position and how much it pays. By federal F.C.R.A. standards, however, a conviction can be reported indefinitely. The “7 year rule” usually applies to arrests that did not result in a conviction. Nevertheless, arrests are not indicators of guilt, so an employer should not disqualify you based on an arrest without further inquiry as to the circumstances.

• Even a conviction does NOT automatically disqualify you from employment. The crime must have a direct relationship with the job you are applying for. (The U.S. Equal Opportunity Commission states that employers must weigh a variety of elements when factoring convictions into hiring decisions. These include the nature and severity of the offense, the time that has elapsed, and whether the offense has any relation to the position advertised.) For example, a conviction for writing bad checks should not disqualify an applicant from driving a forklift. However, a conviction for aggravated assault could disqualify an applicant from almost any job that they would be working directly with other people. It’s up to the discretion of the employer in this case
• Question: Will any criminal conviction record in my file be located no matter the place or year of occurrence? Answer: No, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t disclose it. A common misconception about criminal background checks is that they’re really easy and quick to do. Thanks to T.V. shows like C.S.I, people tend to think that you type a name into a computer and out pops every criminal infraction ever committed anywhere in the country.
• The fact is, employers and background screening companies cannot access the N.C.I.C. system that the police and F.B.I. use unless the job requires a fingerprint check that gets sent to the F.B.I. electronically.
• Our standard method of determining where to search for criminal records is by running your social security number through our databases which provides us the locations you’ve resided for the last ten to twenty years. This also informs us of maiden names that may be associated to you. It’s then determined by the background screening package (already in place) how in-depth the research will be and how far back the criminal record check will go.
• As a background screening company, we would be thrilled it if every client company of ours could afford to have us search every jurisdiction that the applicant ever lived, but that’s not usually the case. We generally search between one and three of the most recent counties that the applicant resided in along with a “national” criminal record database search which contains over 500 million archived criminal records throughout the country. These “national” criminal databases are great secondary searches that provide broad coverage although they’re far from perfect. Many local and federal jurisdictions do not submit information to these private databases so they have many gaps in coverage. National database searches used for employment screening do not compare to the actual N.C.I.C. search that the police and F.B.I. use.
• To make matters more difficult for the screening companies, federal records are kept completely separate from county criminal records or national database searches. We must access a different system to check for any criminal records located in each of the federal jurisdictions that the applicant resided in.
• So is it possible that we could miss a criminal record that an applicant has? Of course we could. However, if we locate it, and you did not disclose it on the application when asked, you will most likely be disqualified for falsifying your application. This is true even when the record itself may not have eliminated you from the position. In my opinion, your best bet is to disclose any criminal record information.
• Remember that most employers really want to fill the position and most don’t care if you made a mistake more than a few years ago. Many of our clients request that we not disclose cases that are older than 7 or 10 years unless they are felony offenses.

2) Past Employment Verifications /Reference Checks

Past employers are unlikely to criticize you. It’s true, believe it or not. Even though you’re old manager, Doug, may have called you a slacker three times a week and thought you stole the pens from his desk whenever he left the office, chances are that he’s not going to disclose that information. At least not if your old company has a human resources department. Big companies want to play it safe. They don’t want to deal with the ex-employee that doesn’t get the next job because of something they said. Standard policy is to say as little as possible and not state opinions. Most often, when our researchers call a company, they are immediately directed to the HR department which will only release the standard information such as
i. Dates of employment
ii. Job Title
iii. Salary
iv. Occasionally they will disclose if you are eligible for employment in the future.

The exceptions to the rule are small businesses and legal obligation.

• When we call a small business that doesn’t have a human resources department or legal counsel, we may talk directly to the owner or someone that worked directly with the applicant. In this situation we tend to get far more detail, which could be positive or negative. If you left a small business on bad terms, and you have to list them as a reference to avoid a big gap in your employment timeline, it may suit you to provide an explanation to your potential employer. They will most likely still call the past employer, but at least you’ve taken the time to clarify what happened and they will know that any negativity expressed in the report may be more emotional than factual.
• The other exception is the legal / ethical obligation an employer has if you were terminated due to illegal or outright dangerous behavior. The past employer can be open to civil litigation if they do not disclose that you harmed someone, acted negligently or committed a crime that caused your dismissal

3) Credit Checks

Contrary to popular belief, an employment credit report will NOT negatively affect your credit score!

• A pre-employment credit report provides the employer the exact same information as a consumer credit report that an auto dealer or bank might run when obtaining a loan. However, a pre-employment credit report does not display your credit score. Employers are not allowed to pass judgment based on your credit score.
  The main purpose of a credit report is to be a gauge of potential irresponsibility and propensity towards theft. For example, if you have extreme amount of debt due to credit card balances and several accounts in collection status and you’re applying for a job managing cash, you could be seen as a high risk for internal theft. Likewise, if you’re applying to be a financial advisor and your credit report clearly shows your incapacity for managing your own money, they’re unlikely to trust you with their client’s money.
• If you’re turned down for a job after undergoing a background check, the company you applied with should provide you with a pre-adverse action letter stating you might not be hired due to something discovered during the background check, as well as provide you a copy of the report. If they don’t, be sure to ask for a copy. The background screening company is required to provide a toll free number to their offices in case you have questions or want to dispute a finding. Most credible background screening companies will act quickly to re-check any information you dispute and correct the report if necessary.
  

The more you know about the background screening process going in, the better your chances of providing complete information without fear of shooting yourself in the foot. Always remember, the employer isn’t out to get you, but their priority will always be protecting themselves from liability and obtaining a quality employee. So emphasize the good, explain the bad and don’t try to cover up a mistake as it could do more harm than good!

Free criminal background checks on the Internet? Is it true?

The FREE Background check has been one of the most frequently advertised and often misleading products on the Internet since the beginning of World Wide Web time. A safe rule of thumb is...If someone is paying to advertise it, then it's not free. You will have to give up a credit card number to see the results of the "search" which may or may not be relevant.

The good news is, YES YOU CAN do a free background check online if you know where to look and you don't mind doing a little leg work. Please note: If you're a corporation conducting background checks for employment screening purposes you should always use a professional background screening company that is well versed in federal and state F.C.R.A (Fair Credit Reporting Act) compliance and has references to prove their track record. The Securities Exchange Commission and Department of Labor have steep financial penalties for companies that do not follow the rules when conducting background checks. Not to mention civil liability from the applicant. End of Warning :)

Now...onto the occasional background check you want to conduct on the guy/girl you met at the coffee shop, the neighbor that's been eyeing your new lawn mower, or the accountant that was referred by a friend of a friend. How can you check them out without hiring a professional or using a service that you don't know a lot about?

Step 1: Get a Date of Birth (if possible)
To do an accurate criminal background check on anyone, especially if they have a common name, you need to know their date of birth. The exception to this requirement is Sex Offender Records which you can search NATIONALLY with just a first and last name as well as Federal Inmate Records. We'll get to these parts shortly.

One easy way to find date of birth information online is a free search such as http://www.birthdatabase.com/. Keep in mind that although this free database is very accurate, not all persons' date of births will be found in it. If you have no luck there, try one of the following to get your subjects date of birth...

• Social Networking Sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Linked In, Twitter, Bebo, etc. often display a date of birth in the user's "profile" page. Go to each one and search for the person by name within your state.


• If the person is a licensed professional, search State Licensing Agencies as their date of birth is often public record. You can typically search by occupation and name.


• As a last resort, just ask em! What the heck, tell them you want to buy them a birthday present or put their D.O.B. on your Outlook calendar. You can even be sneaky and say you want to see how good their driver's license picture looks. Be creative.
  

Step 2: Search Sex Offender Registries
Okay, so you have their name and date of birth, what next? A good first step for any background check would be the National Sex Offender Registry. Here (as we mentioned above) you can search with just the first and last name and then narrow it down by state, city, etc. All sex offender records have pictures in the detail so if you do come across a record on the person you'll know if it's them and likely get their date of birth as well if you don't already have it. Of course you also might be ending your search at that point and changing your phone number.

Note: Make sure you search by any known version of their name such as Bob, Robert, Bobbie, Rob or Dick, Richard, etc. Alias names will show up if they're known by the arresting authority but better safe than sorry.

Step 3: Search FEDERAL Inmate Records
Use the Federal Bureau of Prison's Inmate Locator to search for people that have served time in a federal prison between 1982 and present. This search requires only a first name and last name to search but you can enter an age to limit your results. I don't recommend limiting your search with an age or middle initial unless you get too many results to sift through. It's always better to make your search as broad as possible, then narrow it once you see the results. Federal crimes can include many financial or white collar crimes, internet related crimes, and other crimes that fall into multiple jurisdictions.

Step 4: Search STATE Department of Corrections Records
Move on to individual state Department of Correction's records. On Virtualgumshoe.com we list and link to all the searchable Department of Correction's sites. Be sure to search the Department of Corrections for every state you know the subject has lived, has immediate family in, as well as neighboring states if they lived near the border of other states. Of course the more states you search the better, but we're putting this in terms of a reasonable expectation of time. Note: You may find that some states will only show information for current inmates, but most will have past inmate records as well.

Step 5: Search Available County and State Court Databases
Common Question: Wouldn't County convictions result in time served in a state prison?
Answer: Not always. Many convictions result in probation or supervision. Even if a defendant is sentenced to up to a year in jail, that sentence may be served at a county jail as opposed to a state facility.

Use the County and State criminal record search links found here (Free County and State Databases) on Virtualgumshoe. We only link to the ones that are free and searchable. Even if your search lies in a state that has free statewide criminal record search online, use the county level search as well if available. Free state databases (there's only a few) such as Wisconsin and Missouri are great but they still rely on updates from the individual counties which are more current. If you know the cities but not the corresponding counties, you can use the "Investigators Tools" section of Virtualgumshoe to locate the county by entering the city. Note: Make sure you follow the instructions and proper search format on each county site such as (last name, first name). Once again, be sure to search any available county or state database that is available for every location the subject has lived. The more jurisdictions you cover the better. Professional background screeners determine this information by tracing the social security number, but that is not publicly accessible information.

Now, is every county or state going to have a free and searchable database for the general public to use online? No, they're not. Although criminal records are "public information", that doesn't mean the state or county can't charge a fee or make you subscribe to a service to get that information electronically. The ones listed on Virtualgumshoe are indeed free and online. Those listed on Virtualgumshoe and most other counties not listed will let you walk into the actual courthouse and search a public computer terminal for criminal records. It's just not realistic for most people to take the time to go to the courthouse, learn how to use the computer terminal correctly and do the search on site. Especially if you have multiple jurisdictions to search.

Step 6 Optional (Moving Beyond the Criminal Record)
If you have the time and the patience to do a little more detective work, and depending on the situation, there's a few options. Above, I mentioned the State Licensing Agencies. If the person is a "professional" such as an Accountant, Doctor, Lawyer, Investigator, Nurse, etc. You can find registered complaints against the person or their office. If the person is with a financial institution, check out the "Got Money, Then Protect it" post on the Virtualgumshoe Blog for instructions on how to conduct due diligence on brokers, financial advisors and banks.

Earlier we mentioned the use of Social Networking Sites to locate a possible date of birth. We'll if you haven't already, you can also use those sites to gain a lot of character information as well. Many people carelessly post pictures and comments that reveal far more than they might wish to outside their immediate circle of friends. Of course take it with a grain of salt; everyone is entitled to being a little crazy when they don't think the world is looking.

Another much overlooked method to checking on someone's online activity and character is simply using Google. Searching their name is a good start, but also search any known email addresses they use and change or break them up a little bit. For example, if the person's known email address is "vixen123456@gmail.com", search for the whole email address on Google but also search for "vixen123456" by itself. You might find the person set up a secondary account under hotmail, yahoo, or other service for posting in more discreet chat rooms. Trust me, it happens.
Overall, the key to a successful background check is to use the above suggestions as an outline more than an instruction manual. The best resources to use will change depending on the subject of your search and the information you seek. Use keyword searches on Virtualgumshoe to find additional free sources of information in other areas. Remember, the resources we link to on Virtualgumshoe are all free. Free is great, but it takes a little work, so weigh your options accordingly. If you're considering a paid search to save time, read the following. Otherwise, good luck with your searching!

Are the Paid Criminal Record Searches any different from what I can do for Free?
They are quite different. For example, the "Guardian Report" or any true "Nationwide Criminal Record Search" you see advertised online is a database compilation search that combines any criminal record information we could gather electronically and update fairly frequently. So there are hundreds of government sources feeding into our "Guardian Report" search totaling over 500 million criminal records. These sources include most all of the county, state, department of corrections, and sex offender registries mentioned above plus many others that do not make their information available online. We have to contract with these jurisdictions and pay fees to access their data. You can see the exact coverage and update frequency of our National Database on Guardian Report Coverage page.

Which is better for me. Free or Paid Criminal Record Searches?

To most people, free is always better, but the do it yourself method has its limits as does the pay search. If the states and counties your subject has lived in have online access, stick to free. You can then search as many variations on the name as you like and check back as frequently as you'd like. However, if you have time constraints or the places the subject lived are not accessible online, than check the coverage page of the Guardian Report or other online database and see if the areas are listed and updated frequently. Just be careful when selecting a pay service for an instant background check. They are not all created equal and some are NEVER updated. Note: NO CRIMINAL RECORD SEARCH YOU'LL FIND ONLINE CONTAINS ALL CRIMINAL RECORDS FROM EVERY JURISDICTION. Any advertisement that makes this claim is likely a scam. Make sure that the online service you use does the following.

• They list their full criminal record coverage detail online for every jurisdiction.


• They list an active phone number and physical address in their contact information.


• They have sample reports to view online.


• They have a terms and conditions statement availably for printing.

Tip: Watch out for phony "Top 10 Site Reviews" or "Consumer Reviews" of the best criminal record databases. Unless the reviews are through a well known source these are usually advertisements for fake databases or subscription services.

Just remember, the Internet is becoming more and more of an amazing resource for information. We can conduct research in minutes that would have taken months, or years just 10 yrs ago. With its growing accessibility and popularity, scam artists naturally follow. When conducting your own research, be skeptical of any site that offers to find out anything about anybody for a small fee. Always call and ask questions

If you have questions regarding background checks, please feel free to email virtualgumshoe@gmail.com for more information.