In case you haven’t heard, Ban the Box is a growing movement and it looks like it’s here to stay. Every month it seems like we see a new city or state adding Ban the Box regulations.
It’s been around for 20 years now, so if you still have “the box” on your application, it may be time to think about removing it.
What is Ban the Box?
Ban the Box policies aim to make employers consider job candidates’ qualifications first, without the stigma of any criminal record. So-called “Ban the Box” initiatives are meant to provide job applicants a fair chance by removing conviction history questions on job application forms and delaying background check inquiries until later in the hiring process.
Each city and state has their own regulations when it comes to Ban the Box. Add to that Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulations, and that can make navigating the hiring pool difficult.
As always, you should check with your own legal counsel before changing any part of your background check program, but we have outlined some simple steps below to keeping your business compliant.
Obtain a Release
First and foremost, have the applicant sign a release form authorizing a background check.
Consistency
Run background checks on a consistent basis. Don’t just run one when you think an applicant looks fishy. That can lead to litigation down the road.
You can have a different set of reports that you run depending on the type of job, but make sure that you have clearly defined what types of reports you intend to run for each job.
If a criminal conviction is found, check to see if the conviction is relevant to the position. Again, consistency is key. Know beforehand what types of convictions would exclude someone from working in certain departments/positions.
Proper Applicant Notification
Follow FCRA guidelines if you choose not to hire based on the results of a background check.
Send a copy of the background check along with the Summary of Rights.
Wait the required 5 business days and send your Adverse Action Letter.
If you don’t know what the Summary of Rights or Adverse Action forms are, not to worry, we have you covered! Not only are these forms available on the Fastrax® website, but we can also turn on a feature for your account that will allow you to have us send the forms for you, with just the check of a box.
SELECTiON.COM® provides the comprehensive and customizable screening solutions needed to navigate the legal aspects of background screening. We stay up-to-date with all EEOC and FCRA regulations and provide you with all the forms you need on our proprietary system, Fastrax®, our easy to use one-click FCRA notification system that makes the FCRA compliance a breeze.
The Fastraxt® system allows employers to stay compliant and provides them with the ability to follow the background check process from start to finish.
Our Applicant Entry system will obtain accurate information straight from the applicant, as well as provide an electronic release form for a permanent digital record of their FCRA consent.
Contact us today to see how SELECTiON.COM® can keep you compliant while taking your employment background check process to the next level.
NOTE: The contents of this article are not legal advice for your particular situation. You should neither act nor rely upon anything stated in this article without first consulting your own legal counsel.
At SELECTiON.COM® we believe in open communication and above all, protecting our clients through background checks.
As such, it follows that we make sure our services are accurately presented to the public. We want our clients to be able to choose the reports that will work best to protect their company from bad hires, and that starts with understanding exactly what’s included in each report.
Too often in this industry you’ll see background check companies trying to sell national criminal background checks as a catch-all, one-and-done report.
While that may be appropriate in some cases, a national background check should never be sold as all-encompassing.
We believe in a many pronged approach to background checks. Of course, this all depends on industry and need, but the basic elements are a Social Security Number Trace report to identify where your applicant has lived, county searches in those areas and a national criminal database search to catch those surrounding areas that a crime may have been committed.
SELECTiON.COM® conducts dozens of pre-employment background screenings and verifications, including some of these most common services that we offer:
SSN Trace
A Social Security Number Trace uses the applicant’s Social Security Number to obtain address history information, which is provided by an aggregate of databased information supplied by credit reporting agencies. The information provided by the SSN Trace feeds those name variations and aliases into any number and combination of other reports.
Search America™
Search America™ is the largest national criminal database in the industry and is the perfect complement to virtually any criminal background check via Fastrax Select®. A SSN Trace can be combined and fed into Search America™ populating records provided by hundreds of databases from every state and permanently-inhabited territories (District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and America Samoa) in the United States.
Information comes from Administrative Office of the Courts, Departments of Correction, Sex Offender Registries, as well as county court record information from cooperating jurisdictions. More than 140 unique sex offender registries, including all 50 states and permanently-inhabited territories.
Search America™ also pulls from a large list of national security and international sources, including INTERPOL’s Most Wanted List and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) terrorist watchlist.
County Criminal Record Search
The County Criminal Record Search is used to obtain criminal record information from any of the more than 3,100+ counties in the United States. Record information may be obtained electronically either via a court-provided source, or at the courthouse via public access terminals.
There are jurisdictions where record information is not electronically available, and in those counties, record researchers or court clerks directly are utilized to obtain criminal record information directly from the courthouse.
The scope of the information provided is determined by client preference, and limited by state and federal guidelines.
The County Criminal Record Search is utilized to verify potential criminal records found by Search America™, or to backfill counties/jurisdictions that do not make record information digitally available. The address history is used to determine which jurisdictions need to be searched.
Federal Criminal Record Search
Federal cases are searched independently of state or county criminal records, as the courts in question are separate of each other. Federal case information is searched electronically from the 94 United States District Courts, and jurisdictions are ordered are potentially based on the SSN Trace information. Each district court is ordered separately, and information reported adheres to the guidelines of the FCRA and the preference of the client.
For detail related to some of the other background checks or verifications provided by SELECTiON.COM® including, but not limited to prior employment verifications, education verifications, personal references, motor vehicle records and credit checks, visit our Truth in Advertising page at www.Selection.com.
SELECTiON.COM® has more than 25 years of experience and we can provide you the tools to feel confident that you are doing everything possible to keep your workplace safe.
Contact us today to see how SELECTiON.COM® can improve your background check process.
NOTE: The contents of this article are not legal advice for your particular situation. You should neither act nor rely upon anything stated in this article without first consulting your own legal counsel.
Let’s face it, most criminals aren’t going to just hand over their records. That would make your job a lot easier if they did! Instead they hide their history by working the flaws inherent to the criminal record reporting system.
That’s why you need a background check partner who understands the ways criminals try to work the system. We’ll discuss the top 3 ways criminals try to circumvent the system and how you can prevent it from working below.
STAY UNDER THE RADAR
Why this works: Employees can commit crimes after passing their background check, and depending on how often you re-check their records, can go on for years without anyone being the wiser.
How to prevent it: Set up a schedule to run background checks on employees and not just your applicant. This way, you will be alerted to any possible criminal activity as soon as possible.
We offer our Quarterly Watch® product for monitoring criminal activity. With Quarterly Watch®, all of your employees get screened multiple times per year through Search America®, our proprietary in-house database, which includes the Sex Offender Registry and is the largest criminal database in the United States.
GIVE A FALSE NAME
Why this works: Typically, criminal records are kept with only name and date of birth on file. Across the country, social security numbers have been removed to protect people from identity theft. Therefore, by simply giving a false first or last name and even a correct DOB, a criminal can avoid detection.
How to prevent it: Run a Social Security Number Trace Report. This report identifies all names and addresses associated with a given SSN. If names on the report are different than the one given by your applicant, this can be a red flag.
MOVE OUT OF STATE
Why this works: Criminal records and sex offender registries are not reported across state lines. State background check reports, including fingerprint based state reports may be missing other criminal records as well.
This happens because the crimes are tried at the county level. Records are missing because counties are not required to report all records, depending on the type of offense.
Human error also plays a part. In the case of fingerprint background checks, some records, such as misdemeanor drug offenses, public intoxication and disorderly conduct, can be missed simply because the crime is a ticket offense in that area and doesn’t require being fingerprinted.
How to prevent it: The best way to prevent this is to not depend solely on fingerprint or state background checks. SELECTiON.COM® has effective and cost-efficient solutions to widen your search and make sure you’re getting the best picture of your potential employee’s history.
We recommend utilizing the SSN Trace Report to identify counties the applicant has previously lived in. From there, it’s best to search criminal history at that COUNTY level in each of those areas. Combined with our Search America® report, this solution is the most popular among our clients.
SELECTiON.COM® has more than 25 years of experience dealing with the many ways that criminals try to hide and we can provide you the tools to feel confident that you are doing everything possible to keep children safe.
Contact us today to see how SELECTiON.COM® can improve your background check process.
NOTE: The contents of this article are not legal advice for your particular situation. You should neither act nor rely upon anything stated in this article without first consulting your own legal counsel.
Susan Porter has been a valued member of SELECTiON.COM® since 2016. Here’s a little more about her.
Favorite part of working at SELECTiON.COM®
The faith based, family atmosphere.
Favorite Hobby
Traveling
Favorite Quote
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” -Maya Angelou
Favorite Food
Pizza
Favorite Sports Team
Cincinnati Reds & UK Wildcats
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In case you haven’t heard, Ban the Box is a growing movement and it looks like it’s here to stay. Every month it seems like we see a new city or state adding Ban the Box regulations.
Christina Phillips has been a valued member of SELECTiON.COM® since 1997. Here’s a little more about her.
At SELECTiON.COM® we believe in open communication and above all, protecting our clients through background checks.
Let’s face it, most criminals aren’t going to just hand over their records. That would make your job a lot easier if they did! Instead they hide their history by working the flaws inherent to the criminal record reporting system.
Susan Porter has been a valued member of SELECTiON.COM® since 2016. Here’s a little more about her.