Employee Background - Be Your Own
Detective
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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?"
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. |
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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.
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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.
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.
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experienced database search specialists will immediately go to work for you, to
quickly return real, meaningful results.
More Information |
See Sample Report
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.
Employee Background Check Need to check-out a potential renter? Our
experienced database search specialists will immediately go to work for you, to
quickly return real, meaningful results.
More Information |
See Sample Report
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Investigative
Professionals Background Checks
Our Search Experts tap connections to a far-reaching network of massive
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