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Your Own Detective ~ How to Conduct Employee Background
Check |
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Pre-Employment Screening
Applicants Fudge on Applications
As an employer, you are likely well aware that an application for a
position you offer may contain false or misleading information. You say
to yourself as you are perusing the application, "Now, here's an
applicant, who from all appearances, meets our company's stringent
hiring guidelines, but can we really trust this person? Is the
information provided accurate and truthful? Have important facts been
omitted?" |
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Employer's Responsibility
Employers may be held liable for
criminal acts committed by an employee, and may also be responsible for
lost wages and damages incurred as a result of discharging an employee.
Negative Hiring Doctrine
Twenty-eight states have negligent
hiring doctrines. Be especially concerned about the background of an
individual who will be going into people's homes. As an employer,
you could be held liable for crimes and misdeeds committed by your employee.
Employment Application
Get a signed employment application that includes a "Release of
Information Statement." The signed application will grant you the
right to access medical, worker's compensation, educational, credit,
criminal, police, and court records.
Order an Employee Background Check->
The Application for
Employment should ask for at minimum:
- Subject's full name, SSN,
current address
- Addresses, phone numbers past 10 years
- Landlords for the past ten years
- Employers last three years
- References, three, w/addresses, phone numbers
- Credit history
- Family and relatives; names, addresses, phone numbers
- DOB and place of birth
- Education
- Driver’s license number/state issued
- Vehicles, property owned
- Professional, other license numbers
Education Verification
Determine years of attendance, level of education, degrees earned, areas of study, special honors
and achievements, and disciplinary problems. You may decide to verify all levels of
schooling, but generally, only the highest level of education need be verified. Contact the university's registrar,
who will verify if the person attended and when, if a degree was earned, and the type of degree. Many
institutes of higher learning require a release signed by the student permitting access of student records by third parties.
Former Employer's Interview
Request the Human Resources or Personnel Department. Inquire about dates of employment, reason for leaving, title and job
description, responsibilities and duties, skills, job performance and productivity, honesty and reliability, strengths and
weaknesses, attitude, trustworthiness, willingness to rehire.
What's Missing
A job candidate will generally not list employers or others who will not speak favorably of his or her performance and reliability.
Spans of time may have been intentionally omitted, so question unexplained gaps in the employment history section of the job
application. You need to know and you have the right to know.
References
Talk to those listed as personal acquaintances and references. Interview others with knowledge of the
applicant's qualifications, such as previous supervisors and fellow employees.
Ask about relationship with applicant, how long acquainted,
knowledge of work quality and performance, problems that might affect
new job.
Order an Employee Background Check->
Court Records
Court records are available for review at county, state, and federal level. Records maintained at the county level will
generally yield the most complete information.
Driving Records
Conduct a driver record search if the
applicant will be driving your personal or company vehicles. The Department of Motor Vehicles keeps driver
records for three, seven or eleven years (according to which state you are checking).
The records may show revocations, suspensions, DUI and traffic offenses. DUI convictions
might indicate a problem with alcohol. Note: Applicant's driver
license number is required for driver history searches.
Professional Licenses
If your applicant's occupation is one which requires licensing, ask the Secretary of State,
Department of Labor, or the Accountancy Board for the status of a license. Inquire in states
where applicant previously resided. Ascertain the date the license was
issued and expiration date. Is the license in good standing? Any complaints?
Liability Insurance
If your contractor will be accomplishing structural work, make sure
you are protected by adequate liability coverage.
Worker's Compensation
As an employer, it's your right to check worker's compensation
records to make sure the person in question does not have a history of accidents occurring on the job. The "Worker's
Compensation Claim History" is comprised of two parts: "First Report of Injury" and "Contested Claims."
The records will show: date of injury, type of injury, time lost, and the disposition of the case. The "
History" lists the name of the employer, the individual who will almost always willingly volunteer the most
relevant information. If the job applicant will perform physical tasks, a worker's compensation search is
particularly important. Be on the lookout for possible abuses of the system.
Criminal History Investigation
Check records held by various courts. Federal records are maintained at Federal District Courts. The
State Supreme Court, Department of Justice, keeps state records. State records are stored in the
Central Criminal Records Repository. Criminal records are most complete at the county courthouse.
Criminal Records Searches
Criminal history searches should include: a county criminal
court search, a statewide criminal courts search, and a
national Department of Corrections felon search.
National Criminal Search
If the applicant has moved from job to job, conduct a National
Criminal Search. The records may show charges, adjudication, DOB, and aliases.
If a person you anticipate hiring will be coming into your home, caring for your children, and/or driving your
vehicles, you should perform a Criminal History Investigation. Check backgrounds of domestic help, child and
health care, elderly care providers, and others who furnish services and have access to your home.
When these individuals are represented by an agency, both the individual and the agency should be checked out.
Civil Court Records
County - liens and judgments, State UCC filings; Federal - Bankruptcy
Uniform Commercial Code (UCC)
UCC filings are maintained by each state's Secretary of State office. UCC filings contain information about
civil litigation by individuals and businesses. UCC records may show names and addresses of plaintiffs and
defendants, court name, county and filing date, SSN, or Tax Identification Number, DBA's, asset/lien filings,
amounts of judgments, evictions, bankruptcies. Federal Bankruptcy Court records may turn up information about
financial difficulties, a deciding factor about whether or not to hire an applicant.
National Background Traces
Credit header, trace detail, credit history
Credit Header
The Credit Header portion of the credit report contains names, addresses, DOBs
and SSNs reported by the subject. Headers are indexed by SSN. Some credit
headers list employer and spouse. Header information is considered semi-private,
or semi-public data, and is available to employers through Information Providers
for verification of signed employment application information.
Social Trace Detail
This is an excellent source for verifying employment application data as the compiled data returned will
provide address history, lists of relatives and neighbors, and people reporting the same address.
Credit Report
This record is private and may be released only with the consent of the individual in question. If you have a signed
release from the applicant, you may receive this information. The Credit Report will show account history, payment
history, liabilities, collections, judgments, evictions, bankruptcies, credit activity, and debt load.
Other Checks
Other checks you decide to perform will depend on the applicant's duties and job requirements. If the person in
question was self-employed or owned a business, you can protect yourself by conducting or commissioning a
Business Background Check.
Read our article on
how to check out a business.
Military Records
Some records are open to the public and some are open only to the member and his
or her survivors. Ask for form DD-214, military record with type of discharge listed.
Information Provider - National Public Records Searches
National and statewide criminal records searches can be accomplished quickly and thoroughly
with the assistance of an Information Provider. National database searches can be initiated
to check almost all records sources. Employee Screeners also offer expert assistance.
Most searches require only full name, SSN, and DOB. Investigative Professionals.
Order an Employee Background Check->
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Investigative Professionals Background Checks
Our expert researchers tap connections to a far-reaching network of massive databases
containing more than four billion records to run background checks
and criminal records reports. Experienced database search
specialists will immediately go to work for you, to quickly return
real, meaningful results. Search results are regularly returned within hours.
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