What Does the Employer Need to Conduct Criminal Record Check?

Many companies nowadays are following the well-defined procedure for the Criminal Background Verification process. It is essential as it is helpful and reassures the organization that the person they are hiring is trustworthy and skilled enough to perform a particular job.

Background screening is also known as pre-employment screening that includes:

• Criminal Record Check
• Qualification Verification
• Address Verification
• Identity Verification
• Drug Screening
• Bankruptcy Check
• Behavior Assessment

Although all the screening test plays a vital role and helps the organization to grab the essential details of the candidate they are about to hire, the Criminal Record Check should not be avoided as it is necessary to keep any kind of fraudulent act away from the office premises. Since it involves some kind of legal verification, the process is time taking and demands variously defined protocol.

1. Background Screening Regulation

The background screening regulation is run and regulated by the Federal, State, and Local Laws. At the federal level, the process is completely regulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines. According to the guidelines, employers are not allowed to grab the information of the candidate that is older than 7 years or more and related to civil judgment, arrest record, collection record or bankruptcies.

If the employer begins the process of background screening then the FCRA will notify the candidate that their background verification is being conducted by the employer for taking a decision related to hiring, promotion or retention. The candidate then sends the consent to the employer that allows them to run the criminal record check to proceed further with their decision. 

2. Information Needed to Process Criminal Record Check

The candidate for which the background verification process is being undertaken is needed to provide the further information like Name, Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Current and Past Addresses, Driver License Number, etc. This information is provided to escalate the process. The candidate is asked to provide all this information but they need to read the consent form carefully before signing it.

3.  Procedure for Background Check

Once the candidate provides all the information to the HR manager and signs the consent form, the process of background screening will begin. For this, the concerned HR will review all the results and notify the result to the hiring manager. The information that is found false or incomplete helps the team in assessing the potential risk associated with the hiring of the candidate. Thus it plays an important role in knowing whether or not the candidate should be offered a particular job role.

4. Adverse Action Process

According to the information obtained by the background verification process help the employer to make the right decision regarding the hiring or disqualifying the candidate. If the employer decides to disqualify the candidate then the FCRA takes two more steps that need to be completed by the employer:

Pre-Adverse Action: It is the challenge to the accuracy of the information on which the employer had made a conditional decision. Based on a decision taken by the employer, if the candidate does not consent the accuracy within 5 working days or consent but the re-investigation confirms the original findings then the candidate can take the adverse action. The Pre-Adverse Action Notice is sent by the employer to the candidate along with the complete information that includes background screening report, a federal summary of right, and other summary related to the process.

Adverse Action: It is the action that denies the hiring, promotion or retention of the candidate in the firm. The letter of Adverse Action along with the copy of the federal summary is sent to the candidate. If any of the step mentioned in the letter is not followed by the candidate then he or she could lead to litigation.




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Conclusion

Whether or not the employer hires the candidate, it is good to keep the Adverse Action letters and background screening reports in the master file for five years plus the current year. There is no doubt that the background screening process is complicated and there is no way to ease the process of getting information. Although there are softwares that can smoothen the process by keeping updates and records that help in reviewing the result in no time.