Employee Background Checks

awilliams · October 2002

Hello there,

I am researching the next HR Special Report we will publish in January. The topic is employee background checks. I am interested to find out how many of you perform background checks on applicants and current employees. Specifically, do you perform the checks yourself, or do you out source them? Have you been more interested in performing background checks since 9/11? What types of checks do you perform? What decisions to do make based on these checks? How do employees ususally respond to requests for releases to perform background checks?

Be sure and let me know if you have any specific questions you would like to see answered, or any topics you would like to see covered.

Thanks for your input!

Anne Williams
[email]awilliams@mleesmith.com[/email]

Rockie · October 2002

Hi Anne:

Yes, we do perform background checks. Being a healthcare facility, this is a crucial part of our hiring process. In case we ever have a negligent hiring situation, we can show that we did everything to check the background of the person we hired.

We outsource our checks to a company called ChoicePoint - they can either be faxed or this can be accomplished on line(choicepoint.com) for a faster turnaround time. These can also be very simple or very detailed. In the case of a clinical person, licensure can be checked to make sure a valid license exists for this person or that the person is not on the OIG list of excluded persons (this is a healthcare thang). You can also check valid drivers licenses, credit checks, criminal background, sexual predator check and on and on.

We have had good luck with this company - no issues yet. Most candidates have no problems with these checks. We make sure the fact that we are checking backgrounds is on the application and it is also in their letter of hire as a condition of employment that they pass a successful background check. If an applicant had a problem with a background check, an alarm would go off! Employees in healthcare have had to go through these checks for years, so it is nothing new to them - only the thoroughness of the reports has changed.

I look forward to receiving your report!

gab · October 2002

Well we are a unique situation. We are a FBO which is a fixed base operator. Basically we fuel private and corporate aircraft. We have four locations - 2 out of the four are at international airports. As part of the airport and the FAA, our employees are required to have criminal and 10 yr background checks. For our other 2 bases which are not at big aiports, we conduct 5 year background checks and complete a criminal background if there is a year gap in employment with out any explanation and proof to back up - ie. had a baby, went to school, etc.

I was hired in May 2001 and I implemented doing the background checks for the 2 bases that are not at an international airport. However, after September 11, 2001, we did background checks on all employees that were hired before May 2001. We don't have any problems releasing their information, most employees understand because of the nature of our business.

HR Beginner · October 2002

We too, are a healthcare agency and have done background checks pre and post 9/11. We use a company within our state called Arizona Drug Screening and Investigations (azdsi.com) for most of the checking, but then I, in HR, do much of the rest through phone calls or online (i.e. professional certification verif., social security verif., etc.) azdsi offers a variety of packages to choose from depending on what services you need.

sonny · October 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-09-02 AT 07:54AM (CST)[/font][p]We do backgrounds on applicants, post interview on the top candiate
We outsource
We check education, DMV, criminal, verify employment listed, and (ugh)credit
We have not made any changes since 9-11.
Our request for release to perform checks is on our application.
It is rare that we decide not to hire based on check..a couple times drive records and criminal have entered into a decision as well as finding out someone lied on their application.

Hope this helps. Based in part on info. here on the Forum, I have been trying to get them to drop credit, to no avail. We have NEVER not hired someone because of it. More than I want or need to know.

hrqueen · October 2002

Hi

We are a manufacturing site and we implemented background checks about four or five years ago when we discovered we had a drug dealer on second shift! We do the check on potential hires only. The checks are performed by a local agency and we look primarily at criminal activity, and social security number verification. This process has eliminated about 25% of the potential hires, and another 25% is eliminated when they are drug tested.

We check employment background ourselves, once the applicant has passed the background check and a drug test. This has worked well for us, as we have reduced our turnover to less than 5% for the last two years.

No changes since 9/11.

keithlf · October 2002

We are a manufacturing company and yes we do background checks on all applicants. We have been doing them on truck drivers for years because of the DOT regulations, but we started doing checks on all applicants since last year. We do criminal checks. We also do performance and attendance checks with past employers. We do use the information on our hiring decisions.

Crout · October 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-09-02 AT 02:03PM (CST)[/font][p]We are a non-profit, human services corporation, and as such we are obliged by law to conduct background checks. We fall under PA Acts 33 (Child Protective Services Act) and 169 (Older Adult Protective Services Act). Act 33 stipulates a State Police and Child Abuse background check (PA maintains a registry called "Child-Line" for those convicted of child abuse, as well as those who are named as a perpetrator in a "founded" report of child abuse). Act 169 only mandates a State Police check, however, it also contains a list of offenses that would bar a candidate from employment. We run both backgound checks from our office because both Acts shield us from lawsuits. Anyone from out of State must have a clearance done through the FBI. We do not run credit checks. Our insurance provider runs DMV checks because we have an approved driver list for the company.

AngieH · November 2002

We conduct background checks on all potential employees, as we are required to by our State law (we are a residential treatment facility for adults and youth). I am trying to find out who to contact or how to go about a background check through the FBI, as I have an out-of-state candidate. Any information would be extremely helpful.

susan macias · October 2002

I am HR VP for a hospital in New Mexico. The state health department requires fingerprinting for employees in certain departments such as Home Health and Psych. We fingerprint these applicants in-house and send them off for screening through national databases. For the remainder of our employees, we do reference checks and drug screens.

Min · October 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-09-02 AT 09:52AM (CST)[/font][p]We are a hospital and I do the background checks through the Washington State Patrol. I have to do them on all employees who have contact with children and vulnerable adults. I have not had to do any out of state as of this time, but I would probably do one from the state the employee moved from. I do my searches online through WSP WATCH. Hope this is a little helpful. Our employees have to complete a form before I can do the background check on them. I do let them know if anything comes back on the report- I have only had one instance with a negative report- thank goodness!! Employees do not disagree with me doing the check, which is good since it has to be done if they want a job here.

Cheryl S SPHR · October 2002

We are a bank -- we do background checks on our final candidate before the offer of employment. The check includes references, criminal history, credit, OFAC and, for our courier drivers, a driver history. We do all of it ourselves.

The only thing that has been added since 9/11 is OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control)whereby we have to check the name against a database of known terrorists or other wanted persons.

Lola815 · October 2002

We are a small manufacturing company (under 100 employees). We have been doing background checks for over two years. We outsource our background checks to a company called HireCheck. We do crimal checks, DMV (only if they will be driving company vehicals), education (if it applies to the job), and drug testing. We have written on the application that we do drug testing and background checks before we hire. We give the release form to the applicant after they have been interviewed. Although we might change that, so that would be my question for you. Should you do background checks before or after interviews?

We haven't made any changes since 9/11. If we find convictions or misrepresentation about schooling, etc. then we take everything into consideration and see if it is still feasible to hire them. Before we started doing these checks, we have had 2 employees picked up by the police at work, and one employee resigned because we found out that he wasn't a college graduate like he said on his application.

I think background checks help to keep people a little more honest.

Nat · October 2002

As a long term care facility in North Carolina, we are required to do criminal background checks. We do not do criminal background checks on all applicants only those we consider for hire. We perform criminal background checks only, including fingerprinting for those who have not lived in our state for more than 5 years. We do not do criminal background checks on current employees. Our criminal background checks are outsourced, mainly because they can do background checks in all states that the applicant has lived and it is not cost prohibitive. Fingerprint checks are done by the State Bureau of Investigation. We look for things such as assault, battery, theft, abuse, etc. and the amount of time that has passed since the offense. We cannot ever hire anyone with an abuse conviction even if it's been a long time. We, of course, don't consider arrest, or verdicts that are dismissed - only convictions. Most of the time if someone has a background check that I'm not 100% confortable with, I will try to get informative reference checks to help make my decision. I will go the conservative route and not hire the person if I am not comfortable after a reference check.

AnneHa · October 2002

We started doing background checks when we reached 75 employees. They are outsourced to Avert, a division of ADP. We don't do anything on current employees except the DOL drug testing for our truck drivers. We did not make this decision based on 9/11, but rather on staff growth. We do a driver's license check (most staff drive company vehicles at some point), SSN verification, and reference checks. I can check criminal (conviction)activity that would not allow a hire. We work with the very young and the seniors a lot. Education is checked as needed. We are looking for honesty and confirmation that the information given is correct. Releases are presented after an interview is complete if that candidate has not already shot him/herself in the foot. No one has had any problem with it.

182326 · October 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 10-16-02 AT 10:51AM (CST)[/font][p]My question is What company do any of you use that checks more than just the state you live in? Also, one of you responded that the system you use is cost effective. What is that company?

231489 · October 2002

I am a HR director for a multi-faceted social services organization with approx. 250 employees. We do a background check on any employee that works or is around children, which is a large number. We have them fingerprinted at the sheriff's office and then mail to state Department of Justice.
We do DMV and license checks on all employees as most of them do drive at one time or another in some capacity for the agency. We do that inhouse.
At present, I am thinking of having all employees have complete background checks; however, I am wondering if I can legally do that retroactively for those who are presently employed.
One thing I have learned is that DMV should be run more often than once a year, and insurance coverage be checked on a regular basis.
This is a topic I am very interested in and just recently mentioned my concerns to our Chairman of the Board.
Really enjoy the forum. Thanks so much for all your assistance. Mona V. Andres (559-582-4386)
PS: I, too, am not in favor of credit checks except for senior level employees
and fiscal employees.

Steve McElfresh · October 2002

Anne (and everyone else):

I would be very interested in a question for companies that outsource reference, criminal, DMV and credit checks. How are they implementing Fair Credit and Reporting Act requirements to disclose specific information about 1) a *pending* adverse decision based on such reports (with a "reasonable" delay before acting), and 2) providing copies of such reports to applicants at the time of adverse actions?

I have seen much waffling about this and would be very interested in their experience. It has even been suggested elsewhere that some employers eliminated outsourced processing to avoid entanglement with these rules.

For those not familiar with these issues, some thoughts from the FTC (the federal agency charged with enforcement of of the FCRA) can be seen at [url]http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/hawkeycb.htm[/url], and more non-expert, employer-oriented description is at [url]http://azdsi.com/news.asp[/url] . And for the unabashedly compulsive, the full text is available at
[url]http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra.pdf[/url] .

Regards,

Steve

Steve McElfresh, PhD
Principal
HR Futures

408.605.1870

Rexxies · October 2002

We're a professional services firm in the information security business. Being fairly new, my boss said of course, background checks and I agreed. We use AVERT as well and do the full scope--SSN, Credit, Criminal, MVR, Drug Screens and when I don't have time, AVERT does the References and Educational Reference chk. Price is reasonable, time frame is pretty good (generally 3-5 days). And, I too hate, the whole 'credit' thing--but our business would require it (we hire consultants, sales, etc. who would/could be handling client $$).

To answer Steve's questions as best I can, AVERT provides forms re. FCRA that I send out with the forms that must be completed and returned to us. Additionally, they are supposed to notify the candidate of any adverse action and give them the information--it's required and really shouldn't be a surprise anyway. And the only problems encountered, the candidates have already notified me of in advance--and it was exactly as they said. And it didn't have to impact the hiring decision so I was lucky. Oh well--I'll probably be writing you all when it DOES become an issue for the first time!!

gateway · October 2002

We are a not for profit, in human services. We, too are obligated by our funding and licensing agents to run background checks. We run a local check with the police department in the city where the applicant lives, a motor vehicle check (employees must have a record that qualifies them to be insured with our carrier, because part of the job is transporting the clients we serve). Post hire, we run a fingerprint check via the internet (results in 1-2 days). We often do not hire, or dismiss during probation, based on background checks.

One item that may be worth addressing is obligations under the FCRA regarding background checks.

lee2 · October 2002

How do you get fingerprint checks in one or two days?

Pork · October 2002

AWilliams,We do background checks on truck drivers under DOT standards which include employment history, drug and alsohol testing, vehicular accidents, etc. All other employees under go a drug scred pre-employment. We do reference checks on all other employees, as we deem it appropriate, based on application work history and criminal record responses on the application. Most employers refrain from providing anything other than hire dates and termination dates; therefore, we quit trying to find out unless there is significant indicators or someone in the interviewing process recognizes someone as being "a bad apple". In these cases we do more checking and these have been few and far between. No body else does our type of work in agriculture, therefore their work history normally does not coorelate. Hope this helps! Pork

wiremanufacturer · October 2002

We have only done background checks when we were interviewing for a plant operations manager. We do the DOT checks for our employees who drive co vehicles. WE only verify SSN upon hiring an employee. With our turnover if we did a check on each applicant we would not have any money left for payroll.

Paul in Cannon Beach · November 2002

I'm wondering if the results of this survey are skewed a bit as organizations who do not conduct extensive background checks might not want to say so.

So.. (deep breath) our background checking is not as extensive as others listed here. We ask for personal and work references. Check them carefully. But we do not check credit history, DMV, or do finger prints.

In the summer, we do use criminal history checking service to check our summer staff as some of them are children's counselors. We have an FCRA form that we use.

We are a non-profit religious conference center. We aren't required (as far as I know) to do background checks at all - besides what one would do to prevent a negligent hiring lawsuit.

Of course, our history (knock on wood) of hiring great staff has been excellent so we may have grown complacent.

Paul

WBartlett · November 2002

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 11-19-02 AT 10:51AM (CST)[/font][p]We are a law enforcement agency so we are required by law to perform background checks on officers. We also do them on civilian employees given the information they have access to here. All backgrounds are done in house, we have a contract for the credit checks. We do criminal history,credit and DMV checks as well as contact references and past employers. Applicants have not objected to signing releases for information.

I would like to see some information on access to background investigation information. Historically we have not allowed employees access to these files. We do not allow those people who aren't hired access either. What are other places doing? I am currently responding to a request from a rejected applicant to review his background file as he believes inaccurate information was provided to us. I have refused once, but they (his attorney) are asking again!

HireFire01 · November 2002

Yes,

We perform background checks on every new hire. For the average ee, we run a S.S. verification, Criminal County for past seven years, and 2 employment verifications. If the ee will deal with money in any capacity, including inventory, a credit check will be run. If an ee will drive a company vehicle or forklift a DMV check will be run. We have found the process to be very effective. Currently we are using a third party vendor to handle this responsibility. Applicants have had no problems signing the release form.

-RJS

cebudragonlady · November 2002

RJS-
What credit report items would weigh in your decision to disqualify
a candidate ?

Chari

Linda_CA · November 2002

Anne,

Would it be possible to include a section on CA law? Our laws have changed recently and I find it a little confusing.

Employee Background Checks

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