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Continuous Monitoring: The New Compliance Must-Have

Continuous Monitoring: The New Compliance Must-Have

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New technology helps companies to go beyond pre-employment checks and allows for the monitoring of current employees for concerning behavior. Continuous monitoring is a real game-changer for employment screening and adds immeasurable value to any employer. While some industries are mandated to do periodic screening, there are more companies than ever embracing some form of continuous background check.

Continuing compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidance and applicable state laws is essential. Employers will need to familiarize themselves with these regulations before starting a continuous monitoring program.

Continuous monitoring programs can help to make workplaces and communities safer. Listed below are five questions an employer should keep in mind when implementing an ongoing monitoring program with a third-party background check company.

Will your hiring and employment policies need to be amended? 

The simple answer, yes. Ask yourself what type of report that will be run and add this to your policy. What procedures will you follow after receiving the results of the report? Consult with legal counsel to remain within jurisdictional regulations.

When should you seek authorization and consent? 

The FRCA mandates that employers must obtain the job applicant’s consent before running a background check. State laws dictate the language that is required on a background check authorization form. If the applicant signs the Release and Authorization form during the hiring process, this document works for background checks at any time. However, it is essential that every time the employer wants to run a background check for their employees, that they make sure the release form still complies with the current FCRA regulations. If the release form is no longer compliant, a new form will need to be obtained for continuous monitoring.

How do I make sure the information reported is accurate? 

A third-party background screening company runs a quality check to verify the information. At SELECTiON.COM®, precise searches are returned almost immediately, and all searches returning with records are reviewed manually by our experienced research team to reduce false-positive results and to ensure accuracy. In those cases, the average turnaround time is two to three hours, during regular business hours – Monday thru Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM.

How often should I re-screen current employees? 

Quarterly Watch® by SELECTiON.COM® combines our Search America® national criminal database with background check automation. Employers can re-check their employees to verify that no illegal activity has occurred since hiring. Most of our clients choose to re-screen every three months, while others prefer annual and semi-annual checks.

What action can be taken from the record? 

Employers should follow procedure after receiving the background check report. According to the EEOC, an employer cannot act or base employment decisions solely on arrest or incarceration records. However, new criminal activity may lead to an investigation to understand the details and other circumstances surrounding the event. After the independent investigation, it is up to the employer to make a disciplinary decision regarding the specific employee.

When an employer finds a criminal record on a background check run pre or post-hire that causes the applicant to be rejected or terminated, they must follow the FCRA mandated adverse action policy. This process gives applicants and employees the opportunity to review and dispute the information in the report. Your legal team should determine how this policy applies to continuous monitoring and what the procedure should be for the employers regarding suspension, discipline, or termination of an employee.

The Quarterly Watch® product by SELECTiON.COM® has proven to be a great asset to many companies. Out of over one million Quarterly Watch® searches ran by SELECTiON.COM® in the past year, 949 employees/volunteers had criminal hits. The Quarterly Watch® report catches criminal activity before it becomes an issue for your company.

Contact us today to add Quarterly Watch® to your company’s background screening process. 

This article gives a general overview of the legal matters. However, it is your responsibility to ensure compliance with all the relevant federal, state, and local laws governing this area. SELECTiON.COM® does not provide legal advice, and we always suggest consulting your own legal counsel for all applicant approval matters.    

4 Background Screening Add-Ons You Didn’t Know You Needed

4 Background Screening Add-Ons You Didn’t Know You Needed

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Streamline Your Background Checks By Adding These Features in Fastrax®  

There are many elements that companies worry about on a day-to-day basis. Making sure that background screening is done correctly shouldn’t be one of those worries. At SELECTiON.COM®, we can manage your business’s compliance with the FCRA along with state and local background screening laws, so you don’t need to yourself. There are several features that you can add to your background screening account process to better manage your company’s time and resources. 

Applicant Entry 

Save valuable time by having the applicant fill out the background check form themselves. Our applicant entry feature can be added at no additional cost. Once activated, you can send a secure, one-time-use link to the applicant’s email through Fastrax®. We can customize the email to include a personalized message and greeting. From there, the applicant can input their information, including name, social security number, date of birth, and current address. Depending on the types of reports you wish to run, the form can be customized to include additional information such as employment history, education, or driver’s license number.  

Once the applicant has filled out their information, the background check can be run immediately. Alternatively, you can also place a hold on the form and review it before approving it for a background check. This is helpful when interviewing multiple job candidates and helps narrow down applicants before running a background check. 

Bulk Print   

Bulk print gives you the ability to be able to view or print more than one report at a time in Fastrax®. Check the box near the name of each applicant you’d like to see in order to convert the reports into a single PDF file. This allows you to easily print or download multiple reports at a time.   

E-Verify 

Your company can manage the employee work authorization program through Fastrax® from start to finish. Our E-Verify portal will help you to ensure that your workforce is legally authorized to work.  

Once an account is created for you through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), you will have the ability to process your applicants from application to employment through Fastrax®. E-Verify should be run within three days of hire. The tab in Fastrax® is labeled “E-Verify” and allows you to create an E-Verify request from the already existing information in our system. Search for the applicant by name or SSN. From there, you will only need to type in the information on your employee’s I-9 form to start the E-Verify process. Most requests are returned instantaneously. Tentative Non-Conformation documents can easily be printed and for your employee’s signature. Our system will notify you once the employee has resolved any issues with their work authorization at the DHS or local Social Security Administration office. With Fastrax®, our program improves the efficiency of your Form I-9 employment verification process and the accuracy of your payroll and tax reporting.  

FCRA Delivery 

We stay up to date on FCRA regulations and provide the tools to keep you compliant with the click of a button via our proprietary web portal, Fastrax®. Once activated, you can choose to have our in-house staff mail the Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action Letter for a nominal fee, with the click of a button. 

You will see a “FCRA” tab on Fastrax®. After you’ve requested a FCRA mailing, a red envelope will show up next to the applicant’s name once a letter has been sent to the individual. The details on which letter was sent will be available to you in the log notes.  

SELECTiON.COM® is your one-stop-shop for all things background screening. We will help your company stay compliant and save time. 

Contact your in-house sales team member to add any of these services to your background screening process. 

This article gives a general overview of the legal matters. However, it is your responsibility to ensure compliance with all the relevant federal, state, and local laws governing this area. SELECTiON.COM® does not provide legal advice, and we always suggest consulting your own legal counsel for all applicant approval matters.    

Employee Spotlight: Tom Hottle

Blog, Employee Spotlight

Tom Hottle has been a valued member of SELECTiON.COM® since 2015. Here’s a little more about him:

Favorite part of working at SELECTiON.COM®

Working for a small company, everyone knows you. This makes it a great place to spend your day.

Favorite hobby

I’m a writer.

Favorite food

Lamb stew

Superpower I wish I had

Invisibility

Bucket List Item

Visit all fifty states. Twenty-five left to go.

Fun Fact

I drove 2,900 miles from San Francisco to Cincinnati.

Protecting Children Through Teacher Background Screenings

Protecting Children Through Teacher Background Screenings

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As the summer is wrapping up, parents are getting their kids ready for the new school year. While parents are buying pencils, notebooks, and backpacks, school administrators are training and preparing their staff members.

New teachers are hired and must go through an employee onboarding process. Before starting a teaching position, teachers must go through a pre-employment background screening to be able to work in a school. Learning institutions are working hard to fill positions and understand the need to ensure that those working with their children lack criminal convictions related to children or abuse.

Teacher Screening Requirements

When it comes to teacher background screenings, schools are first obligated to comply with regulatory laws, which vary from state to state. Since some state’s laws may be lacking in certain areas, additional background checks should be implemented beyond the official state requirements. This may be one of the most critical decisions that schools can make to protect their students and staff members.

Typically, the background screening program used by schools includes a mix of state and federal criminal checks, child abuse checks, employment, and education histories. For instance, in Ohio, all candidates seeking an Ohio educator license, certificate, or permit must complete a fingerprint check through both the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and FBI criminal background databases. Ohio also requires credentialed educators to complete an FBI background check every five years.

Unfortunately, not all states are as thorough. Some only require public schools to run background checks on their new teachers and do not have procedures in place to check a teacher’s criminal file after the initial background screening. As a result, teachers may enter their career without any record, then may commit unnoticed crimes while working for the school.

Add to that the issues that are inherent in the fingerprint databases searches and you have a recipe for disaster. Criminal records and sex offender registries are not reported across state lines. State background check reports, including fingerprint-based state reports, can sometimes have missing information. This happens because the crimes are tried at the county level. Counties are not required to report all records to the state, depending on the type of offense. They also have their own schedule on when those records are sent on to the state database, creating infrequent gaps in data. Human error also plays a part with missed uploaded records. With fingerprint background checks specifically, 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.

Go Beyond The Requirements

At SELECTiON.COM®, we have a multi-tiered approach to background screening that encompasses more areas. We believe that the best approach to teacher screenings is to go above and beyond what is required by law. We recommend that clients supplement their fingerprint or state-based screening program with county criminal checks and a check through our Search America® national criminal database.

We also offer our Quarterly Watch® service, which will run a check through the Search America database at intervals chosen by our clients. For example, the checks can be run quarterly, yearly, or bi-annually. Quarterly Watch® makes continuous criminal monitoring easy for all employers.

In addition to checks that are in place specifically for the student’s safety, it is a good idea to verify a teacher’s education. Teachers should have the proper qualifications and credentials to teach their students. You’d be surprised at how many people lie on that portion of their application. In 2018, fifteen percent of education verifications submitted to SELECTiON.COM® showed that the applicant had lied about their education.

Our recommended background screenings for teachers:

At SELECTiON.COM®, we have worked with some of the nation’s top learning institutions. Contact us today to create a customized screening solution for your school, and we will help you hire the right person and keep your students safe.

Background Check Essentials Every Company Should Know

Background Check Essentials Every Company Should Know

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One of the hardest tasks employers face today is finding the right candidate. 

Nearly three out of four small business employers have hired the wrong person for a position according to CareerBuilder research. This is extremely costly for businesses due to training that is involved. That single bad hire has more of an effect on your business than you ever expected. 

Running a background check is an essential part of the on-boarding process, and there are many regulations to follow. Besides the stress of selecting just the right candidate for the job, one small mistake could lead to unwanted lawsuits. Before starting the background screening process, make sure that you take the time to understand which checks you need and how you should go about running them. 

To be compliant with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you must have the applicant sign a disclosure and release form before running a background check on the individual. If you choose not to hire the applicant, based on any reason in whole or part of the background check, then you must send the applicant a copy of their background check, consumer rights, and pre-decision letter. Wait five business days to mail an adverse action letter to allow the applicant time to dispute the claim. 

SELECTiON.COM® stays up to date on FCRA regulations and provides the tools you need to make your screening process run smoothly.  

We offer pre-populated pre-decision and adverse action letters for our clients on the Fastrax™  dashboard free of charge. Clients can also choose to have our staff send the mailings in-house for them. 

The Importance of Employment and Education Verifications 

Knowing the background of the applicant can allow employers to hire a candidate with the right criteria and experience. Running employment and education verification reports can help to prevent a bad hire.  

Employment verifications will give the dates of employment and position held by an applicant. It’s important to note that previous employers are not required by law to answer additional questions such as attendance or rehire eligibility. However, many employers are happy to expand upon them when an employee left on good terms. This kind of information is invaluable when assessing a candidate.  

Character references are another essential addition to your background screening program. When searching for the perfect candidate, you want to identify reliable employees whose personality will allow them to get along with others. At SELECTiON.COM®, the character reference questions can be customized to the position. Checking a candidate’s references is a great way to reveal more in-depth information than a typical employment verification. Unlike employment verifications, HR policy usually doesn’t have restrictions on character references. Past supervisors can feel free to expand on an applicant’s work ethic and personality.  

The Inherent Flaws of Criminal Research  

Employers shouldn’t rely on the applicant’s answers of where they have previously lived to base their criminal research. This information isn’t always accurate. If your applicant committed a crime in a former county of residence and did not provide that information on their application, then you’ve missed out on critical information. 

Criminals try to hide their history. They do so by working the inherent flaws in the criminal record reporting system. Social Security numbers have been removed from criminal records by most counties in the United States to protect against identity theft. Criminal records are matched by name and date of birth, so applicants may try to give a false name or date of birth to avoid detection.  

Offenders will also move to another state because they know that criminal records and sex offender registry data are often not reported across state lines. In addition, records can be missed with fingerprint background checks because the crime is a ticket offense and doesn’t require a fingerprint. 

Relying on an applicant’s honestly can be very costly. SELECTiON.COM® has practical and cost-efficient solutions to widen your search. Our SSN Trace report will identify where an applicant has lived and populate the counties to search for criminal records. Combine this targeted criminal county search with our Search America® national criminal database, and you will receive a much more accurate and detailed view of your applicant’s criminal history. SELECTiON.COM® can provide you with the tools to feel confident that you are doing everything possible to keep your workplace safe. 

A Background Check Partner 

From understanding what a criminal charge means, to checking the status of employment verifications, customer service is arguably one of the most critical parts of choosing a background screening partner. 

SELECTiON.COM® provides outstanding customer service. We put the customer first in everything we do. The next time you reach out to us, the chances are very likely that you will recognize the person on the other end of the conversation. That’s because our customer service team is not only industry experienced, but also tenured in their time with our company. Customer support is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (EST) Monday through Friday, via phone or online chat. 

Our in-house IT department can facilitate every need you may have. We have completed integrations with businesses across the country, including some of the top applicant tracking systems, such as Virtus, Catholic Mutual Group, and iCIMS. With these integrations, our clients save time, money, and streamline the background check process. We also offer access to our own in-house developed applicant tracking system at no additional cost. 

Make sure you’re hiring the right person the first time around through screening your job candidates. Knowing what background checks you should be running and how to go about doing them will help you to streamline the process. You can save time, money, and improve workflow with SELECTiON.COM®. 

Contact us today to see how SELECTiON.COM® can take your background screening process to the next level. 

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