Promote safety and a trust-based culture. A careful search of county, state and federal records can reveal felony convictions, misdemeanor convictions, pending criminal cases, history of incarceration and more.
Your company’s reputation, for one thing. But that’s just the beginning. You want to build a culture based on trust, where employees feel safe and secure. Criminal background checks also play a key role in managing risk to your assets and your customers, including minimizing liability claims. Criminal checks are part of a hiring process that complies with federal, state and local regulations, including “fair chance” hiring laws. They help ensure you follow industry and company hiring policies.
Some 70 million Americans have a criminal record, but that record is just one part of any candidate’s profile. Fair Chance or “ban the box” laws can prohibit employers from inquiring into a candidate’s criminal history before the candidate can introduce themselves and their specific circumstances — often after a conditional offer of employment. Remember Jean Valjean from Les Miz?
However, stealing a loaf of bread is one thing, but rape or aggravated assault are altogether different. Once a candidate has passed additional screening, a criminal background check provides the insight you need to assess each case and make an informed decision. A careful search of county, state and federal records can reveal felony convictions, misdemeanor convictions, pending criminal cases, history of incarceration and more.
While your company will bear ultimate responsibility for compliance, we’re here to advise you. Criminal background checks must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines, as well as local, state and federal fair hiring (ban the box) laws.
Some key considerations:
If a background check compels you to deny employment, follow the steps outlined by the FCRA to ensure the Adverse Action Process is followed. Some local laws also outline specific steps for adverse action.
PeopleG2 offers options in criminal background checks to meet your company’s specific needs. Below is a brief description of each search type.
This is one of the most important tools for uncovering criminal records. Subjects are most likely to have information filed at the county level, making this one of the most accurate and comprehensive searches. We are one of the few screening companies using actual researchers who handpick information from courthouses in every county in the United States.
Many states offer statewide criminal search comparable to the county one. If available in your state, this search can be run as a broader alternative to the county criminal search. Some industry regulations require statewide searches.
This robust search incorporates all our criminal database information — more than 850 million records — covering the most areas and records available based on name and date of birth matches.
County criminal searches go deep but not very wide. The National Criminal Database Search complements a county search by going wide but not very deep. It can uncover possible crimes missed by other searches, and covers over 750 million records in multiple databases. PeopleG2 always suggests combining this search with a county criminal search. That way candidates are screened using the widest, most accurate criminal review in a cost effective manner.
This search is important if your employees work with vulnerable populations. It covers registry information from available counties and states in the US. Most records include pictures and birth date information. All searches may return records of other individuals, whose profile is similar to the candidate, for your review and possible further investigation.
Violations of federal law are recorded in the US District Courts and generally do not appear in either a county or statewide criminal check. However, federal offenses can be very severe, involving kidnapping, drug trafficking, interstate transportation of stolen goods, bank robbery and embezzlement. Federal searches are important if your employees work with financial or other sensitive information.
Unless otherwise specified, searches cover records for the past
Some court, state or other external fees may apply.
Schedule a call with one of our industry experts, who will answer questions about our process, service offerings, pricing and more. Learn why we provide this valuable service, and how we can make a difference in your organization.
