Best Practices and Processes for Employment Background Screening

Why This Story Matters:

What an employer does not know can hurt their company when hiring job candidates since “bad hires” can lead to legal and financial nightmares. Luckily, there are several ways that employment background screening can help protect a company against “bad hires” just as long as the company’s background screening provider follows “best practices” and processes.

Best Practices and Processes for Employment Background Screening

“Best practice” is defined as “a procedure that has been shown by research and experience to produce optimal results and that is established or proposed as a standard suitable for widespread adoption,” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Employment background screening has a set of basic “best practices” that employers may want to follow for due diligence.

An employer should use an employment background screening provider familiar with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a federal law that regulates background screening in the United States. The FCRA covers several areas including permissible purposes for accessing results, disclosures to consumers for screening, and adverse action from unfavorable results.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforce the FCRA. An employment background screening provider should also be familiar with two FCRA-mandated notices: A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (En Español) and Notice to Users of Consumer Reports: Obligations of Users Under the FCRA.

Most employment background screening providers offer many of the following services that an employer may want to consider using when screening. The types of screening services can change depending on the job in question, the state where the screening takes place, and any applicable federal laws. In general, an employment background screening may include:

1. Social Security Number (SSN) Trace: An SSN Trace returns residential addresses and counties associated with a job candidate from where they have lived, worked, and/or went to school to help steer the background screening provider to the correct county court(s) where they can research the candidate for potential criminal information.
2. Criminal Record Search: This search provides details on a job candidate’s convictions and pending charges. If a candidate has a criminal history, employers should weigh their offense(s) against the specific job role. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – which enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination – recommends conducting an “individualized assessment” to consider factors including the nature and gravity of the offense, the time passed since the offense, and the nature of the job. Candidates should have a chance to explain the circumstances.
3. National Sex Offender Registry Check: A Sex Offender Check is recommended when making a hiring decision. While there could be some repetition of records found in a sex offender and criminal record search, this is a due diligence measure and a recommended best practice that provides a secondary search and a wider reach.
4. Employment Verification: Job history is an important aspect of employment background screening since a sizable portion of candidates may misrepresent or exaggerate their experience on their application or resume. As a result, a candidate may not be qualified for the position. Verifying job history helps protect against bad hires.
5. Education Verification: Employers considering candidates need to be sure they have the proper knowledge and training to do the jobs for which they are being hired. Education verification helps to guarantee that the candidates is not misrepresenting their educational accomplishments and putting a company at risk.
6. Drug Testing: Drug tests are a required screening measure for some employers such as those in the transportation industry under the  U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). For other non-DOT employers, drug tests are a voluntary screening initiative that shows their commitment to a drug-free workplace. While some states have legalized recreational use of marijuana, most employers still have the right to drug test since marijuana is still illegal at the federal level. 
7. Social Media Search: Social media searches of a job candidate’s online presence that comply with the FCRA can help employers understand potential liabilities for their company’s reputation, brand, and value propositions. These types of searches can turn out to be critical for high-visibility employees in public-facing roles.
8. Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) Check: An MVR check uses the job candidates’s driving history to show whether they engage in risky behavior such as excessive speed or illegal acts such as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. MVRs are crucial for jobs where the candidate will be driving for any part of the job since the company hiring them may face a negligent hiring lawsuit should they be involved in an accident that causes harm.
9. Employment Credit Check: A job candidate’s financial history can give insight into whether they are responsible and organized or a risk. A candidate with significant debt who has been struggling financially may not be the best hire for a job with close access to a company’s finances. The FCRA and certain states regulate the use of credit checks in hiring.
10. Global Searches: Today’s workforce is not constrained by countries or borders. Multinational companies rely on the expertise of employment background screening providers to screen candidates in the U.S. who have lived abroad or candidates who will work in one of the more than 230 countries outside of the United States.
11. Additional Screening: Additional employment background screening services should be available if deemed necessary.

Not all employment background screening services are the same. An employment background screening provider should offer a comprehensive package that includes many of these screening services to ensure best practices and processes. Another important consideration is the protection of the personally identifiable information (PII) of job candidates during screening.

PLEASE NOTE: The employment background screening services listed above are just an example of potential services offered and is not by any means a definitive list of services. ClearStar does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information contained in this blog or on the ClearStar website is for educational purposes only.

What Employers Need to Know About Employment Background Screening

Background screening in the U.S. is heavily legislated, regulated, and litigated. Employers can be on the hook for millions of dollars in penalties for violations of the FCRA, EEOC, and other federal and state laws. For example, employers who willfully fail to comply with the FCRA are liable to affected consumers in an amount of up to $1,000 for each individual consumer.

In addition, professional employment background screening companies should have certifications that include International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA®) accreditation, Data Privacy Framework (DPF) certification, and System and Organization Controls (SOC 2®) Type 2 reports. 

What ClearStar Does to Help Employers With Employment Background Screening

ClearStar – a global workforce screening company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health services – provides a “one stop shop” that offers a variety of employment background screening solutions in one convenient place that empowers employers to make informed hiring decisions. Services from ClearStar include:

• Criminal Record Searches at Federal, State, and County Levels
• Sex Offender Registry Searches
• Employment/Education Verifications
• Licenses and Credentialing
• Personal Reference Checks
• Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) Searches
• Social Media Screening
• Civil Record Searches
• Employment Credit Reports 
• Employee Monitoring
• Contractor Screening
• Tenant Screening
• Global Searches in 230+ Countries

ClearStar’s numerous ISO, PBSA®, DPF, and SOC 2® certifications help ensure the privacy, security, and confidentiality of consumer data used during the background screening process. Thousands of employers all over the world trust ClearStar to manage the background screening of their workforces. To learn more about background screening, contact ClearStar.

© 2024 ClearStar. All rights reserved. – Making copies of or using any part of the ClearStar website for any purpose is prohibited unless written authorization is first obtained from ClearStar. ClearStar does not provide or offer legal services or legal advice of any kind or nature. Any information on this website is for educational purposes only.

Thomas Ahearn - Digital Content Editor

Thomas Ahearn is a Digital Content Editor at ClearStar, a leading Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. He writes about a variety of topics in the background screening industry including Artificial Intelligence (AI), "Ban the Box," class action lawsuits, credit reports, criminal records, drug testing, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), identity theft, privacy, social media screening, and workplace violence.

At ClearStar, we are committed to your success. An important part of your employment screening program involves compliance with various laws and regulations, which is why we are providing information regarding screening requirements in certain countries, region, etc. While we are happy to provide you with this information, it is your responsibility to comply with applicable laws and to understand how such information pertains to your employment screening program. The foregoing information is not offered as legal advice but is instead offered for informational purposes. ClearStar is not a law firm and does not offer legal advice and this communication does not form an attorney client relationship. The foregoing information is therefore not intended as a substitute for the legal advice of a lawyer knowledgeable of the user’s individual circumstances or to provide legal advice. ClearStar makes no assurances regarding the accuracy, completeness, or utility of the information contained in this publication. Legislative, regulatory and case law developments regularly impact on general research and this area is evolving rapidly. ClearStar expressly disclaim any warranties or responsibility or damages associated with or arising out of the information provided herein.