NY & FL Background Checks

Paige

We are wanting to conduct criminal background checks for employees in our NY & FL offices. Are there special regulations specific to those states that I need to be aware of (wording in applications, copies of results, etc.)?

stilldazed

We're in Florida and required by Florida Statute to check criminal history because of the nature of our business. Review FS 435 (and 440 depending on the nature of your business) at flsenate.gov. Because of the requirement, we have a direct link to FDLE by modem and do not employ the services of an outside background checking agency. National level verifications are managed for us by AHCA. We collect fingerprints in our office for FBI comparison when necessary and have 6 months after hire to complete that step. We're not required to disclose to candidates that background verifications will be done, although we have chosen to disclose that we will check criminal history. We find that disclosing that the step will be taken encourages honesty on the application, and thus reduces misrepresentation in the hiring process.

The verification must be authorized by the candidate for hire and conducted after an offer for employment is extended, which requires that offers are conditional. If the candidate refuses to authorize the step, the offer for employment is rescinded. Disqualifications are based on confirmed conviction records, which sometimes requires that we contact local city/county agencies and may take 2 weeks or more to complete, or misrepresentation (confirmed convictions not disclosed during the application/interview process). If a person passes the verification stage, we can only release that he/she passed. If a person does not pass the verification, we are required to described in writing to the candidate exactly what made him/her fail the check (citing the statute number for the conviction), offer the candidate an opportunity to prove a case of mistaken identity, and advise the candidate that errors in criminal history can be corrected only by his/her direct interaction with FDLE.

Contrary to popular belief, Florida statute
1. requires that a plea of no contest or pre-trial intervention with withheld adjudication counts the same as a conviction
2. does not place a time limit on criminal history
3. gives us access to juvenile records

We find a lot of examples of young people arrested for a drug charge at 16 or 17 years old who were poorly advised by public defenders to enter a plea of no contest, accept a withheld adjudication, participate in a pretrial intervention program, accept a probationary period, perform community service, and ride on the promise that their juvenile records are sealed. If the charges were felony level or involve other minors, the advice was bad advice and we have to disqualify.

Paige

Thanks, stilldazed. Would you mind faxing me a copy of the verification form you have employees sign off on? 630-214-7369