Why A Background Record Check Is So Important To A Prospective Employer

A background record check is routinely carried out by employers when they are looking to recruit new staff members. Such a check is also needed in other situations where it is necessary to ascertain the character of an applicant. In cases of volunteer workers dealing with children, for example, there is just as much need for a thorough background check as there would be with a paid position as a teacher.

It is obviously the need to protect children which has brought the background checking system into public view. Successive scandals have demanded that something be done to address the problem. Specific federal databases of offenders have been set up to keep potentially dangerous employees out of situations where they would come into contact with children.

Of course, it is not just people working with children who need to be thoroughly checked. Anyone who has a responsible position where they have access to confidential information will need to be thoroughly vetted. This will vary from employer to employer, and some occupations have special rules which allow employers access to information which other types of employer are not able to access.

Checking criminal records when employing someone is vitally important, as we have seen a rise in recent years in the number of lawsuits being brought against employers who are made responsible for their own failure to carry out checks when making appointments. It has now gone beyond the point where it is a matter of simple common sense, an employer is now putting their entire business at risk if they do not carry out the necessary background checks.

Many of the checks which are routinely carried out involve government databases. As well as criminal records, driver records can help a potential employer decide whether a potential employee is responsible and trustworthy. Some records, such as educational, medical and military records, are far more confidential, and are rarely available to anyone making a search without the consent of the person concerned.
As well as government databases, there are many records held on corporate databases which can be accessed. These records relate mainly to an individual's financial history, and are accessed by employers in the financial services industry.

Records on these databases never stay live for ever. There is always a point at which the record will drop from the file, and the potential employee will then be free of it. Most financial records stay on the report for a period of seven years, including defaults and civil lawsuits. Bankruptcy stays on the record for ten years, and is a very serious block on a person's chances of a job in the finance industry.

Individual states have their own laws which affect how much personal information is available to a searcher. Often, an employer is allowed to ask a question on an application form, even though the data controller will be prohibited from disclosing the information without the consent of the person concerned. It is important to find out what different laws your state applies to a background record check.



Background Reports. Criminal Records.



 

Background Check News:

 

Valpo Parks expands background check process - Post-Tribune

Valpo Parks expands background check process
Post-Tribune
By James D. Wolf Jr. Post-Tribune correspondent January 28, 2012 8:26PM VALPARAISO EUR” Those wanting to work for the city's Parks Department will now go through a more thorough background check. The Park Board voted Tuesday to use Safe Hiring Solutions .

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Tips on using Internet background check services - South Bend Tribune

Tips on using Internet background check services
South Bend Tribune
By KIM KOMANDO Q. I have a question about online background check services. Are there free ones? The reason I ask is because sometimes I hire home improvement people. Many times, these contractors are too small to appear in online reviews or the Better .

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Glenn Reynolds: Record check an ineffective nuisance
Tennessee is one of the large majority of states EUR” 34 out of 50 EUR” that doesnt require a background check when one private individual sells a gun to another. Mayors Against Illegal Guns, founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, thinks that Tennessee should join the minority...


Bookkeeper Accused of Stealing $1 Million From Archdiocese - New York Times

New York Daily News

Bookkeeper Accused of Stealing $1 Million From Archdiocese
New York Times
When she was hired in the summer of 2003, the archdiocese did not regularly conduct criminal background checks on all of its employees, and her past convictions were not noticed, Mr. Zwilling said. According to court records, Ms. Collins was arrested .
Woman, 67, Accused of Stealing $1 Million From ArchdioceseABC News (blog)
NY Archdiocese Worker Accused of $1M TheftNBC New York
Church worker accused of stealing $1MNew York Daily News
CBS Local -GlobalPost -Times Herald-Record
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Background check deadline extended
Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Jerry Green and Assembly Education Chairman Patrick J. Diegnan Jr. on Friday asked the states acting education commissioner to extend the deadline for compliance with the new criminal background check law for school board members...


Background Check Class Action against Employer for Violations of the Fair . - ESR NEWS

Background Check Class Action against Employer for Violations of the Fair .
ESR NEWS
The lawsuit contended that both plaintiffs were the subject of background checks, had started working, and later were terminated after the background check was completed. In both instances, the plaintiffs were not provided with a copy of the report or .

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Pepsi Agrees to Pay $3 Million After Investigation Into Background Check Policy
(1/20) Pepsi Beverages (Pepsi) has agreed to pay $3.13 million and provide job offers and training to resolve a charge of race discrimination filed in the Minneapolis Area Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Based on the investigation, the EEOC found reasonable cause to believe that the criminal background check policy formerly used by Pepsi discriminated against ...

Background Checks for Parent Volunteers?
By MELISSA HURST LIFETIME MOMS   My sons new school requires all volunteers, even parents who just read a story in class once a month, to submit to a background check. This costs money and can be very time consuming. After a recent news story...


Background mix-up keeps man with common name out of job
John Smith has a common name, but somehow a background check company found crimes attached to his social security number he says he didn't commit...






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