What do employers check in a background check

Workplace Theft Employers know that most business theft today is performed by insiders. A background check can help employers to make intelligent and informed hiring decisions to help reduce their risk of theft. To see the importance to employers of confirming candidate credentials, look no further than the very public examples of CEOs and high-profile professors and coaches that embellished their credentials, only to cause harm to the reputation of the employers that failed to conduct a or a sufficient background check on them.

The Bottom Line Organizational reputations have always been a great concern to employers, as the most highly regarded organizations generally are able to attract the best qualified workers. Background checks help employers safeguard their reputations by creating safer, more secure work environments staffed by qualified employees. Learn More. There are many reasons employers conduct appropriate levels of screening for prospective employees through a background investigation, a reference check or both.

According to the HR. A major reason to conduct background and reference checks is to avoid harm or legal liability of various types to the employer or to others. This includes harm to:.

Defense of legal claims, such as negligent hiring, is a compelling reason to conduct in-depth criminal records searches of job applicants. A multilevel jurisdictional criminal records search can be strong evidence that the employer exercised due care in hiring.

Hire the best and reject the rest, the saying goes. Typically, past performance is a strong indicator of future performance and can reveal an individual's professionalism, productivity, job skills and interpersonal communication abilities. A reference check helps distinguish between a true high flier and a mere poser. Verifying the information provided by the applicant regarding his or her education and credentials, employer history, tenure, and other data will not only confirm required qualifications but can provide some insight into the applicant's reliability and motivation.

According to a HireRight report, 85 percent of employers surveyed uncovered a lie or misrepresentation on a candidate's resume or job application during the screening process—up from 66 percent five years ago. Human resource professionals must deal with a variety of legal challenges when conducting background investigations.

Several federal laws explicitly or implicitly apply to the practice of background investigations. The FCRA regulates the use of consumer credit reports and investigative consumer reports and applies when a third party conducts background checks on behalf of an employer. Inquiries about job performance cross into the world of investigative consumer reporting.

An investigative consumer report includes character references or personal opinions in addition to verifications of public record sources typically found on a basic consumer report. Proper written disclosure and candidate notification for this type of inquiry, required under the FCRA, should be issued before requesting a credit report. When do employers need to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act? Equal employment opportunity EEO laws. Employers should take care to ensure that background investigations comply with all applicable EEO laws.

A risk is that reliance on background investigations alone may result in adverse impact discrimination. IRCA prohibits discrimination based on national origin or citizenship, except for undocumented immigrants, for employers that have four or more employees.

The Form I-9 employment verification process stems from IRCA, and while this verification occurs after hire, it's important to understand that applicants' national origin or citizenship cannot be used against them if discovered before hire. Various state laws may overlap with some of the relevant federal laws; moreover, states may have additional requirements with respect to:. Employers need to check the state laws in which they employ workers for specific compliance details.

See Multi-state Law Comparison Tool. Several common law claims can arise against an organization as a result of a background investigation gone wrong, including:. However, a substantial majority of states now have laws that provide some level of statutory immunity to people providing employment references. Employers should consult with legal counsel for compliance details. See How can employers protect themselves from liability when giving references? There are many types of pre-employment background checks being conducted today, with employers using a mix of those that best suit their needs.

Some of the more common types are discussed below. Some people include false employment history on their resumes. Employers frequently discover lies embellishing job responsibilities. Other frequent falsehoods involve skill set, dates of employment, previous employers, and job titles and roles.

HR professionals should contact previous employers to verify:. Listing academic degrees never obtained or educational institutions never attended are also common resume falsehoods.

One high-profile case involved the admissions dean for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who resigned after it came to light that she had claimed to possess three degrees she had not actually earned. Similarly, a former CEO of RadioShack resigned after executives discovered he had falsely claimed to have two degrees from a college in California.

See Why should an employer verify an applicant's education? Increased use of criminal background checks by employers to prescreen job applicants stems from the growth of claims alleging that an employer was negligent in hiring or retaining an employee who subsequently engaged in workplace violence or some other act that resulted in harm to a person e. Many organizations also perform criminal background checks on current employees, either as a matter of course or prior to a promotion, transfer, or other change in the terms and conditions of employment.

Identification verification may also be used to verify an address, which can be cross-referenced to the information provided by a job applicant to detect inaccuracies. Although credit reporting agencies do not necessarily have identical information, the general categories of information that show on a background check include:.

Credit reports can reveal many potential warning signs in an applicant, especially if your new hire will regularly be handling money. High levels of debt or excessive spending on assets could indicate financial irresponsibility. Criminal background checks for employment may show criminal offenses at the county, state, and federal level. Various offenses which may be reported include:. Employers should take caution when evaluating what shows up on this form of background check for employment.

Depending on the type of job employers are hiring for, they might require additional information from their candidates and ask for more information on their background check for employment. Further searches include options such as motor vehicle and driving records, employment history, education verification, reference checks, and drug screening. The consequences of making the wrong hire are staggering.

According to a recent CareerBuilder survey , almost 27 percent of U. The U. Why are these costs so extensive? Termination expenses. You may be required to pay additional healthcare expenses and, in some cases, face litigation expenses should your ex-employee choose to take legal action. So how do modern business owners get a more complete picture of their job applicants to avoid a bad hire?

With pre-employment screening. There are several different methods employers may use for pre-employment screening, and what shows up on a background check will vary depending on which service is chosen:. ShareAble for Hires offers reliable, trustworthy, and comprehensive pre-employment screening that can help ensure you have a more complete picture of your job applicant.

Through criminal reports, credit history, and identity verification, you can confirm your hiring decision and ensure your applicant meets your criteria. Keeping your business safe should be priority, and running criminal background checks on job applicants can protect your company, employees, and customers. TransUnion data shows that nearly 1 in 4 reports contain a criminal record.

ShareAble for Hires scours million national and state criminal records. Our criminal reports glean information from Most Wanted databases, the Sex Offender Public Registry, and criminal databases from 43 states. ShareAble for Hires criminal reports offer FCRA-regulated data, providing you with the relevant criminal history information needed to effectively screen potential employees. You may decide to have stronger financial criteria for applicants who will be regularly handling money, and a credit report can be useful in determining the financial trustworthiness of your applicant.

Does the position in question involve the handling of money? ShareAble for Hires draws its credit reports from TransUnion, a trusted, reliable credit reporting agency with over 40 years of experience. When you use ShareAble for Hires for pre-employment background checks, you receive a credit report that include:. Identity theft reached an all-time high in That means almost 1 in 16 U. S adults were victims of identity theft in the past year alone.

What does this mean for your business? ShareAble for Hires offers built-in identity verification with each screening package so you know your applicant is who they say they are.