What Employers Need to Know About Criminal Background Checks
As many employers are finding out, running a criminal background check on a potential employee can save your company time and money. While not everyone with a criminal background should be suspect, the majority of criminals continue in their behavior. Instead of finding out about an employee when it is too late, make criminal background checks a part of your hiring process.
Before you get started, here are some important tips to help you get the most out of criminal background checks for employees.
1. Make sure that you get their authorization. Many states require a signature from a potential employee before a background check can be run. Check with your state officials to see what procedure you will need to follow. In most cases, a simple statement should be included with an application for hire that states that the person applying for the job acknowledges that the information that they provided will be used to conduct a criminal background check and that they give you permission to perform this check.
2. Don’t forget to get their social security number. A name is not enough to run a criminal background check. You will need to include a space on your application for the applicant to include their social security number. This will cut down on false results, and make the process much easier. It is also a good idea to include a clause in the application that will provide you with recourse if the information that the applicant provides is false. It is not unheard of for people with criminal backgrounds to give false social security numbers to hide their pasts.
3. Ask for past residences and employment. This will help you narrow down your results if your applicant has a common name. This is very important and can help you build a history that is accurate and complete. It is common for employers to include at least three spaces each for past residences and jobs. This should provide you with enough information to get an accurate report on your applicant.
4. Ask for a birth date. This is the hardest thing to include on an application. Most states Equal Opportunity Employment laws prohibit asking an applicant for their age. Since a birth date is essential for running a criminal background check, you will need to include a release form that will allow you to use their birth date for the purposes of running a background check. Once again, you will need to check with your state officials to make sure that you are not violating any EOE laws with your request. You may be able to ask your applicants for a copy of their driver’s license, which will assist you in obtaining this information.
5. Check more than one state. Instead of relying on a simple state-wide search, opt for a national criminal background check. This is very useful, particularly if you notice that your applicant has included past employers or residences that are out of state. This will help you get a clearer picture about your applicant and may alert you to a potential problem.