How To Conduct A Background Investigation

A background check tin verify a candidate'south work history, feel, and education; uncover resume lies or omissions; and reveal a criminal history. Conducting employment background checks helps yous make smarter hiring decisions, only it's important your background check process is consistent, legal, and fair.

Here'south everything you demand to know virtually doing employment groundwork checks.

Your workforce is the lifeblood of your visitor. You need qualified, trustworthy employees in club to striking your business goals — but building a high-quality team is no easy feat. More than half (56%) of the people in a recent survey lied on their resume, mostly around piece of work experience, education, skills, and job duties. While a modest fabrication may not be a big deal in some industries, it could be downright dangerous and irresponsible in others.

Candidate omissions tin be only every bit bad — if not worse — than simply stretching the truth. For instance, a candidate with a recent history of violence may not be forthcoming about their past. An incident in the workplace could put customers and other employees in danger, which could lead to negligent hiring lawsuits and permanent damage to the visitor's reputation.

A background check can help you lot mitigate these risks and amend your quality of hire.

How To Run A Groundwork Cheque

Running a background check begins with laying the groundwork for a fair, consequent process, and ends when you brand an informed hiring conclusion. This guide will walk you through how to conduct a background check on an employee by following these six steps:

1. Brand Certain You Have a Consistent Groundwork Bank check Policy in Identify (Go to Footstep ane)

A written groundwork check policy should document which background checks will be conducted, how they will be used in employment decisions, and when they will be conducted. This helps ensure a fair and transparent process across your organisation.

2. Make Certain Your Policy is Legally Compliant (Go to Step 2)

Between the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance and various state and local regulations, background check compliance can become tricky. It's always a good thought to review your policy with legal counsel.

3. Cull the Right Background Check Visitor(Become to Pace 3)

The best groundwork check partner for your company will depend on your hiring volume, concern size, number of locations, size of your HR squad, upkeep, groundwork screening policy, and in-house legal counsel. Be sure to apply an employment background check company that complies with the FCRA.

4. Know What to Expect (Go to Step 4)

There are many different types of background checks you can run on candidates to fit the unique needs of your business, manufacture, and the positions for which yous're hiring

5. Permit Your Candidate to Articulate Upwards Whatsoever Mistakes (Go to Step five)

Your candidates have rights under the FCRA. You lot must first notify them of your intent to run a background cheque and get their permission in writing. If you consider not hiring the candidate, you must let them to review their background cheque results. They can file a dispute with the background cheque company to resolve whatsoever inaccuracies.

six. Make Your Decision (Go to Step 6)

Background checks can assist you make more than informed hiring decisions so you can improve your quality of rent and mitigate risk.

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1: Create A Background Check Policy

A groundwork check policy documents the details of your screening program, so it tin can be applied consistently across your arrangement. It should include 3 things:

Which types of groundwork checks will be conducted, and for whom. Information technology'south a best practice to implement background screening across your entire system, merely tailor the employment screening packages by position. For case, you lot may wish to require credit checks for positions that manage money, and driving record checks for positions that involve operating motor vehicles.
How background bank check results will affect employment decisions. Your background check policy should specify what types of information you will consider in employment decisions. It's considered a best exercise to take into account the nature of the position sought, the nature of the crime, and the corporeality of fourth dimension since the conviction occurred.
When background checks will be conducted. Decide the recruitment process stage in which you plan to screen candidates, and the intervals at which yous programme to screen current employees. Federal police allows an employer to conduct employment screening at whatsoever bespeak afterward getting the candidate's consent, merely state and local laws may be more restrictive.

A written background check policy helps you ensure a fair and transparent process, forbid discrimination, and avoid litigation and enforcement from federal agencies.

ii: Compliance: Background Checks For Employment & The Law

Background checks are governed by federal, country, and local laws and regulations. The employer is ultimately responsible for compliance, and failure to do then can result in costly fines, settlements, and lawsuits.

Here are 4 potential violations to exist aware of:

Consent forms: The FCRA requires employers to inform applicants in writing that a background check volition be run for employment purposes. This disclosure needs to be clear and conspicuous and provided as a stand-lonely document.
Adverse activeness: The FCRA also requires employers to follow the iii-step agin activity process when they intend to take an unfavorable action based on the results of a background check. Employers must send a pre-adverse action notice with a re-create of the background written report and a Summary of Rights. Then they must give the candidate reasonable time for the candidate to answer (typically five business days) earlier sending an adverse activeness notice.
Ban-the-box: Ban-the-box regulations vary amidst states and municipalities, but usually crave that a background bank check be delayed until subsequently the commencement interview or later a provisional offer is made. Ban-the-box laws may also impact the agin activity process, so be sure to check applicable laws.
Championship 7: The EEOC enforces Title Vii of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting employer bigotry based on race, colour, religion, sex, or national origin. Some background screening policies may result in disproportionate agin treatment toward a protected group, especially minority populations that are arrested at disproportionate rates.

3: How To Choose A Background Check Company

Every business concern is unique, and it's important to choose a background cheque provider that all-time fits your specific hiring and screening needs. The all-time groundwork check service for your company volition depend on your hiring volume, business size, number of locations, size of your 60 minutes team, budget, background screening policy, and in-house legal counsel. Some features to consider are:

Built-in Compliance: Go beyond FCRA compliance to mitigate risk of unfair hiring practices, equally well every bit lawsuits and penalties related to EEOC, ban the box, and local regulations — particularly if you rent beyond multiple locations.
Integrated Adverse Activity Workflows: Ease compliance with built-in, localized agin activity workflows that alarm you when to send pre-adverse and final adverse action notices.
Individualized Assessments: Reduce scrutiny by the EEOC with a built-in way to inform y'all when individualized assessments are recommended or required.
Flexible Packages: Avoid over-screening candidates and reduce processing times with the right level of background check for your industry, position blazon, and county.
A Practiced Candidate Experience: Mobile-friendly workflows and digital consent make starting a cheque quick and easy. Provide a transparent process for candidates with the ability to log in and see their own background cheque condition and study, from any device.
Integrations: Reduce transmission workflows with a seamless integration to your ATS.

Cover of GoodHire ebook, Background Check Basics

4: What Are The Dissimilar Types Of Groundwork Checks?

You should exist familiar with the unlike types of background checks and what's included and so you know what to wait and how each blazon of check can assistance you make timely and informed hiring decisions based on your manufacture and the positions for which y'all're hiring. These include:

Criminal record checks: National criminal background checks, as well as state, federal and county criminal checks, written report felony and misdemeanor convictions and electric current awaiting court cases. Depending on your provider's policies, dismissed charges inside seven years may also be reported. Examples of charges that may appear include vandalism, public intoxication, disorderly conduct, violent or sex crimes, fraud, and embezzlement. Employers apply criminal record checks to assess whether a candidate could pose a threat to customers or create an dangerous work environs.

Civil court checks: County and federal civil court checks can assist you acquire about non-criminal suits, claims, and judgements where the candidate is listed as a respondent. These may include pocket-sized claims, restraining orders, violations of ceremonious rights, and bankruptcies, and may exist peculiarly important for positions where employees will have financial or direction responsibilities.

Credit checks: An employment credit report shows a candidate'southward full credit history (but non their credit score), including payment history, civil judgements, tax liens, bankruptcies, unpaid bills in collections, and recent credit inquiries. Reviewing credit history may be required for some jobs, and may be particularly important for positions where access to fiscal assets, transactions, and decisions are a primary responsibility.

Driving tape checks: Motor vehicle reports (MVRs) confirm license validity and provide insight into a candidate's driving history, including DUIs, suspensions, and moving violations. This may be of import for positions where employees, volunteers, or contractors will operate motor vehicles for business purposes.

Drug screening: Drug testing provides evidence of contempo use of specific prescription and illicit drugs. Routine employment drug screening may help employers maintain a safer, more productive workplace.

Employment verification: Validate your candidate'due south employment history and job-related experiences. Employment history verification can confirm the data provided by a candidate is true; the piece of work experience is sufficient to meet the position's requirements; and past titles, achievements, or responsibilities are valid.

Educational activity verification: Verify your candidate'due south school omnipresence dates, majors, and degrees, diplomas or certificates earned are valid. An Education Verification search tin can help to mitigate the gamble of hiring a candidate with imitation credentials, and assist yous comply with federal, country, local and industry regulations.

Healthcare sanctions checks: An OIG search and healthcare sanctions groundwork bank check provides insight into a healthcare professional'due south medical background, including whatsoever penalties, suspensions, or punitive or disciplinary actions. This helps you lot comply with federal regulations and confirm your healthcare practitioners are in good continuing.

International background checks: Unlike types of international background checks can provide international criminal records, instruction credentials, and employment history for candidates living in the U.s. who have previously lived, worked, or studied in other countries.

5: What Do Yous Communicate To The Candidate?

It'due south of import to communicate with candidates about your background check process so they know what to expect. Be open with your candidates nearly why yous're conducting the background cheque, and encourage openness in render. Let the candidate know that they're welcome to see their background check results, dispute any inaccurate information, and add comments in writing, or speak with you, to explain any alerts.

Candidates accept rights under the FCRA, laid out in the document A Summary of Your Rights. When you utilize a background cheque provider to screen a candidate for employment, you must:

Notify the candidate that you lot volition conduct a background check and that the results could influence your decision to hire them.
Become the candidate's written consent to conduct employment screening through a background check company.
Notify the candidate through a pre-adverse action observe if the results of the background check make y'all consider not hiring them. You lot must also provide the candidate with a re-create of the background check results; a copy of their rights under the FCRA; and the name, address, and phone number of the groundwork screening visitor that ran the cheque. Then yous must allow time (typically five business organization days) for the candidate to file a dispute virtually inaccurate results. Only and then may you lot send a final adverse activity discover in writing if you've decided not to rent them.

The EEOC also recommends considering individual circumstances and context effectually a candidate's criminal tape. These include the nature and gravity of the offense, the fourth dimension that has passed since the offense, and the offense's relevance to the task sought. An individualized assessment allows the candidate to provide additional context almost the offense, and gives them an opportunity to explain.

Other Considerations

If you're planning to run an employment background check for the first fourth dimension, there are some boosted things yous should know:

Hiring for remote positions

During recent pandemic-related lockdowns, remote work has go much more common, resulting in fewer in-person interviews and more video interviews. To start, it's a good thought to add an identity verification check to add an extra layer of security to the process. To help improve your remote hiring process, we've assembled a step-by-pace guide to hiring remote employees.

Delivery times for background checks vary

How long a background check takes varies depending on the types of searches run. Some background bank check providers can provide bones background checks almost instantly or inside the same day. Other screening services, such as county criminal record checks in counties where records aren't digitized, or employer and education verifications, can take up to 5 days or more to consummate.

The FCRA requires company verification

Per FCRA regulations, you must verify that your company is a legitimate concern before y'all tin order a groundwork check. The visitor credentialing process with a background check provider typically takes between ane hr and i day to complete.

Use free background checks at your own peril

It's possible to conduct a groundwork check on your own, but it'southward fourth dimension-consuming and carries inherent risks. You may take to visit each jurisdiction'due south courthouse in person, fill out record response forms, and look for responses. And then you run the risk of losing your candidates to other employers or, worse, not getting the correct results back and basing your hiring decision on incorrect or incomplete information. Or if you use social media to screen your candidates, y'all run the hazard of seeing restricted hiring criteria — like organized religion or race — and making biased hiring decisions.

You may desire to conduct a reference bank check

Some groundwork cheque providers can conduct employment and education verification checks, as well every bit professional reference cheque services. Reference cheque interviews that use a series of in-depth, open-ended questions may help y'all gauge a candidate's graphic symbol, learn how they might align with your company values, and understand how they may fit into your visitor culture.

Consider conducting post-hire background checks

Background checks are not a "one and done" thing. Information technology'south mutual to deport post-hire background checks annually — or more than oftentimes in certain industries and positions. If you lot do, be sure to include an "evergreen clause" in your background check consent form, where allowed by state law.

Make More Informed Hiring Decisions With A Background Bank check

A background bank check is a worthwhile investment to build a high quality workforce that will aid you attain your business concern goals. Tailor your screening policy to your manufacture and positions, and detect a provider that can deliver the data you need — while helping you lot stay compliance. With informed hiring decisions, yous can better your quality of hire and mitigate risk.

GoodHire makes employment screening easy. Our U.s.-based support team can provide expert recommendations on which packages work best for your screening needs, while also saving yous money by non paying for screens yous don't need. Plus, GoodHire'south compliance expertise is unparalleled. Find out how nosotros can help.

Disclaimer

The resources provided hither are for educational purposes just and practice not constitute legal communication. We advise you lot to consult your own counsel if y'all have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.

Nearly the Author

Jen Dewar is a marketing consultant in the 60 minutes technology space with a focus on developing educational content for HR professionals and recruiters. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion, lifelong learning and development, and treating people like people throughout the candidate and employee experiences.