The Criminal Background Check and the FCRA

September 27, 2010 by

A number of employers are unsure of the elements that comprise a criminal background check .

A background check company and the information it provides to the End User (the customer) is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and the FCRA, the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  Under the FCRA, booth the background check company, also known as a Consumer Reporting Agency or CRA, and the customer have certain rules to follow.  Although many employers think the FCRA regulates only credit reporting, but that is far from the case.

As far as criminal records are concerned, the FCRA restricts reporting of any arrest that does not result in a conviction beyond seven years in the past.  Some examples of non-conviction are acquittals, nolle prossequi, withheld or deferred judgments, successfully completed first offender programs, dead dockets, and others.  Any arrest or disposition that occurs within the seven-year window may be reported to the end user.

Arrests that result in convictions, however, may be reported as far back as records are available.

But there are certain states that have reporting restrictions that are even more stringent than the Federal Government’s.  All End Users should check their local laws, or ask their background check company for the states that are more restrictive, and what restrictions apply.

A “rule of thumb” for many employment screening companies is to check the records back seven years only.  Be sure to ask your company what their policy is regarding years searched, and what you prefer for your pre employment background check program.

For further explanation and information regarding criminal background checks and the FCRA, click here, or call 770-426-0547.

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How Employment Screening Can Lead To A Safer Work Place

September 24, 2010 by

Pre employment screening has become a necessary process for many companies, industries and firms and especially with high risk positions. Pre employment screening consists of employee background checks and include a criminal background check along with personal, employment, financial, educational and other legal history checks.

There are several reassurances that come with employing the services of a background check company. Of these include knowing that you do not have a criminal amongst your employees, they were honest and sincere with their resumes and histories, and they have the educational training required for their positions.

Employing the services of a background check company also can reassure there are no employees with fraudulent histories that could eventually lead to attempted fraud against their company. If an employee with a bad credit and financial history of length and bankruptcy were to be put in a position that included handling large amounts of money, the potential of a theft happening would be much higher and a situation that can be avoided with employee background checks.

Employment screening and employee background checks decrease the incidences one could expect with high risk employees. You could even say it ensures a much lower percentage of chance that one bad apple will spoil the whole bunch! This can give the employers more time to think about other business matters and eliminate the stress of not knowing who is working for them.

Pre employment screening should consist of employee background checks and a criminal background check at minimum, but depending on the type of business and the potential risk that typically comes with this type of business, the full employee background checks may be more appropriate. Not only will the employer feel more safe and secure but the employees will too, knowing full well what all is being checked before they are hired.

A safe and secure company is able to focus more on running the company and less of watching their backs as those that do not take these precautionary steps should be doing. It’s too bad that this is the way it is, but it is certainly smarter to be safe than sorry.

A criminal background check is a simple, easy solution.

For more information contact us at background check company or call 1.770.426.0547

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Criminal background check

September 22, 2010 by

Depending upon the type of business; the criminal background check may place emphasis on different aspects of a potential employee’s background. For example for a job that requires driving, a history of drunk driving or drug violations will be more important than minor misdemeanors involving petty thefts. A criminal background check for a job involving the handling of money would place emphasis on arrests and convictions involving gambling or embezzlement. A security officer criminal background check would place more emphasis on finding convictions for weapons, assault or sex crime charges.

One problem for investigators in a criminal background check are juvenile criminal records. Many states allow access to juvenile files if they involve serious crimes but there are still some states that continue to seal all juvenile criminal records for even the most serious crimes. Juvenile records may be less important for a criminal background check on an older potential employee but may be very crucial in evaluating a very young employment prospect.

In addition the the above problems an additional problem is that many names are similar and someone with either a warrant or a criminal record may have a common name and his birth date may be the same as several other people.

The problem is that an employer does not want to deny a position to someone simply based on a case of mistaken identity. This could lead to legal problems and lawsuits if an error in identity is made.

On the other hand a sensitive position should not be filled by a judgement call or the benefit of the doubt. The investigator must be certain that the persons who have similar names and birth dates to people with records or warrants are, in fact, not those people and that may require some extra effort to contact the agency who put the record into the law enforcement tracking systems. There must be no doubt as to the identity of the person undergoing a criminal background check. It is certainly best to find out the individual’s background accurately prior to, and not after he is on the job.

For more information contact us at criminal background check or call 1.770.426.0547

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5 Things Employee Background Checks will Reveal.

September 17, 2010 by

In today’s America, pre employment background checks have become a must in every company that thrives for success in the entrepreneurial world. Remember that the government is always looking at you, and you should always be very careful with your potential employees if you don’t want Uncle Sam to slap you in the hands for bad management.

Even though employee background checks can become a scary task if you want to do it on your own, if you hire the perfect background check company, scary will be the least of your concerns. A background check company will help you dig out the dirt out of your potential employees. Employment screening will reveal things like:

* Lies About Past Jobs.
If you thought you’d be hiring the next Bill Gates for your company, think again. Employment screening will reveal if you are about to hire the next Bill Gates, or the next Larry the Cable Guy for your company.

* Lies About Degrees.
It’s very common for potential employees to lie about their academic history. Pre employment background checks will detect very easily degree-fudging in your potential employees as well as your company’s current employees.

* Worker’s Compensation History.
Employee background checks will reveal if your staff has been involved in worker’s compensation fraud, or if they are seriously injured that they won’t be able to put up with the job that you are trying to offer them.

* Sex Offender’s List.
Let’s face it, who wants to hire a pervert? Quick criminal background checks will reveal to you in no time if your baby-faced potential worker is in reality a wolf in disguise. Always be on the safe side and ask to your background check company for a criminal background check.

* Credit Records.
Is money disappearing from your cash registers? Hire a background check company to reveal which person on your total staff is having money problems. However, that doesn’t really mean this person is taking the money, but at least you know you have to keep an eye on this person just in case.

There are a lot of things that a background check company can help you find out. If you want to be on the safe side it’s never too late to hire one of these companies, you don’t want Uncle Sam telling you “I told you so”.

For more information: employee background checks or call 1.770.426.0547

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Criminal Background Checks

September 13, 2010 by

In employment screening, all criminal background checks are not alike.  They can be from the narrowest, most focused type (generally a county court search) to the broadest (a national commercial database search).

Let’s examine some of the differences.

The narrower search at the county level is the most detailed.  The information is contained in the file from a criminal proceeding, and is public record.  All details of the record are contained there from the date of the offense until the final disposition.  Generally, these types of records are obtained by a runner, a live person who goes to the courthouse, looks up the name in an index, and pulls the actual file to examine the information that is recorded and reported as part of the background check.  Some county indexes are on line, although the record itself is maintained physically at the courthouse.  The advantage to this type of search is that it is extremely accurate and detailed.  The disadvantage is that it is narrow and doesn’t include nearby counties where the individual may have committed crimes.

Next is the statewide criminal repository, which approximately 40 of the 50 states make available for defined purposes.  The repository is made up of criminal information forwarded from local police departments, as well as municipal, lower, and upper courts.  The advantage here is that the search covers a much broader area than a county specific search, but all statewide repositories are not equal.  Some include only conviction information, which precludes pending cases, while others are too slow or expensive to use, making them impractical.  The decision to utilize a statewide repository depends on cost, accuracy, and the content included.  Not all local courts report every court action to the repository usually by oversight, but some repositories are very thorough.  Your background check company generally knows which ones to avoid.

Finally, the national commercial database is an extremely broad based search.  The information contained in it comes from government agencies that sell the information to subscribers, and from public sources such as on-line court systems or state departments of correction (prison inmates).  The data may also come from searches that have been conducted on an individual in the past and been added to the database.  This type of search can be a valuable add on tool to a more specific search, but should never be relied upon solely to make an employment decision.  The advantage to this type is obviously breadth, while the disadvantages are accuracy and timeliness of the information provided.  Identifiers like dates of birth and social security numbers are frequently redacted, and criminal information may be only sporadically uploaded to the database, missing recent criminal activity.  Further, a crime may have been expunged by the court, but remain on the database, causing problems to the applicant and the employer.

For further advice on criminal background checks call 1-770-426-0547 or click here.

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Mandatory Employee Screening Anyone?

September 5, 2010 by

Have you ever wondered if every employee that you are hiring should have to pass a criminal background check? I know that it increases the cost of hiring. But if you add up the hiring costs and training expenses when trying to determine an ROI of a new employee, the cost of employment screening is marginal. However, the costs of not using a background check company could be astronomical.

Have you considered that you could be hiring someone with a very bad driving record as a delivery truck driver? The bad driving record could include speeding offenses and minor moving infractions such as rolling through a stop sign. But it could also represent a tendency for careless or reckless driving. If your new delivery driver has been convicted of driving under the influence and he gets behind the wheel of your delivery truck intoxicated, you could be held accountable for his actions. Your insurance costs could sky rocket and a possible law suit could put your business at risk. A background check company could have been your best friend.

When comparing the costs of employment screening versus disastrous actions caused by employees, wouldn’t you agree that it is in the best interest of everyone that employee background checks are mandatory for everyone during the hiring process. Depending on the type of your business you should conduct employee background checks on your employees during their whole employment.

Employment screening is not something you should ignore or dismiss as unnecessary.

For more information, visit employee background checks or call 1.770.426.0547

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Not every background check company is equal

September 3, 2010 by

If you hire employees or take on volunteer workers you are likely conducting background checks through a background check company.  Not every background check company is equal and there are considerations to be made.

How easy is it to do business with them?  Are there any human beings who can intelligently answer questions available?  Do they offer online services?  Are the services easy to use?

What types of searches do they do?  Not all background checks are the same.  There are multiple areas to search in a criminal background check and it is not difficult to miss an issue with criminal history.  Do they offer a credit history check?  If your candidate will be handling money or valuable inventory you want to be sure they are creditworthy/ responsible.

Where do they look?  Again there are multiple databases out there that may contain information you need and going with a budget priced background check company will likely mean they are doing a minimal/ surface search and not digging into detail.

Are they looking at workers compensation claims?  There are people out there who “work the system” costing employers small fortunes in high monthly insurance costs due to false claims.

What is the company’s background? New companies pop up every day because someone has a get rich quick idea.  Look for well established companies with a positive track record.

Interested in learning more about what is available?  Contact the background check experts at Loss Prevention Systems by calling 1-770-426-0547 or visit on the web here: background check company

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Employment Criminal Background Checks…Necessary?

August 27, 2010 by

Is an employee criminal background check really necessary? As a former Police Officer I came into contact with people every day that were not fit to be in the same community as the good people in society. This included individuals that caused serious injuries to others. They used weapons to harm, kill, rape and steal. The list goes on and on. I learned quickly that these people cared about themselves ONLY and most had no remorse even when caught.

Then as a loss prevention professional for several major businesses I have personally investigated over 2300 employees for mainly employee theft. I found that many of those same people are in the workforce. I guess the primary impression I have come away with from that is this: These types of employees WILL steal from a business and smile while they are doing it. The only remorse that the majority had was that they were caught. This applies to all ages, sex, race, religion….

Now add this to the fact that many different studies over the years conducted by many different organizations boils down to this: Approximately 20% of the work force has stolen from their employer. This is one in five of the people in the work force today and that work for you! You may not wish to believe this but it is FACT. And we are only talking about theft. This does not include other crimes.

Is an employment criminal background check necessary? It is not just necessary it is an absolute requirement, no compromise. Unless you do not mind wasting money, time, labor and loss of your cash and merchandise to learn the hard way.

Oh, by the way if you hire someone that is violent or prone to it and they injure, kill or harm in any way another employee or customer you will be held liable. Saying I didn’t know does not hold water. The courts lean towards the fact that you should have conducted a criminal background check because they are readily available at low cost.

I forgot to mention, I have seen hundreds of managers and business owners that have said something to me like “I know people, I don’t have people like that working for ME”. They are the ones that are really at danger because their ego out weighs their business sense. Remember one in five!

Don’t compromise on employment screening!

For more information on employee background checks contact us or call 1.770.426.0547

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Reasons for pre employment screening needs on the rise

August 20, 2010 by

Employers of all sizes are now conducting pre hire employment screening of some type and are looking at several areas. The obvious ones are:

A criminal background check probably comes to mind at or near top of the list.  Banking institutions or retailers seeking to hire individuals who will be handling potentially thousands of dollars per day want to be sure there is no record of theft and so on.

A driving records check obviously makes good sense if an employee will be using a company vehicle.  A bad record will cause insurance rates to soar.

A credit check will give a great idea of how a person manager their money which will translate into many roles across many industries.  A bad manager at home will not likely do miracles at work.

A public records check will show court record like bankruptcies, lawsuits and judgments that could be unwanted baggage for the employer.

Worker’s compensation claims checks are gaining popularity. There are individuals who have a pattern of filing claims wherever they work and again it is possible to avoid potential problems there.

One reason to conduct employment screening employers may not consider, but could possibly rank at the top of the list is to avoid a negligent hiring lawsuit.  If an employee harms others intentionally on the job and it is found that the employer did not conduct pre employment screening on the individual and that they had a violent past… this makes the employer liable in the eyes of the plaintiffs and their legal representation.

For more info contact the experts at employment screening

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Why use a background check company

August 19, 2010 by

One way to to answer the question why use a background check company is to tell a true story about employee theft.

Smart pre hire processes will help you identify potential threats to your business and prevent potential losses like the one one of our clients experienced in the story below.

Management of a chain of hardware stores received an anonymous tip that an employee was making suspicious refunds. Our refund audit at that location uncovered over $20,000 in refunds that could not be verified as legitimate, and were traced to the employee, a cashier. During the interview with our investigator, the clerk admitted taking stock from the sales floor and initiating refunds, crediting them to her relative’s accounts. The cashier also implicated other employees who were involved in other illegal activities.

People like this do not start at this level and you will see a pattern if you conduct a criminal background check through a professional background check company that will help you avoid hiring such a bad apple.

You will want to get not just a criminal background check but also driving history if any company vehicles are to be used at any time in the forseeable future.  Bad driving record will have the potential to skyrocket your insurance costs.

Also things like educational verification will identify exaggerations or flat out lies about their credentials/ background.  A credit search will identify a persons ability to manage their money which is important if you plan to trust them to manage anything for your business.

These are the highlights of why you should use a background check company.  You will also want to dig deep into the actual solution you will be getting because just like anything else, not all companies providing this service are equal or provide equal results.

To learn more go here:  background check company

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