A background check is a process of researching and collating records, such as criminal records, commercial documents and financial reports of an individual usually for the purpose of employment or promotion. It is also used to issue security clearance for potential government employees. Sometimes it is also used illegally like for unlawful discrimination, identity theft and privacy violations.

Employers do background investigation on current and possible employees because lawsuits which make employers liable for negligent hiring is rising. Such lawsuits can hurt the company financially and can even ruin the firm\’s reputation. For schools and other institutions dealing with children, they also do background check because laws require them to due to the rise in child abduction cases. Also, employers investigate their employees\’ background as a result of the September 11, 2001 attack. Intensified security and identity-verifications have now become a must for employers. With the Enron and other corporate scandals in 2002, corporate heads, officers and directors are now under much scrutiny both in their corporate and private lives. Applicants tend to give out false or misguided information about themselves in their resume thus an independent investigation on their backgrounds may be necessary.

Background investigation can include credit files, criminal records, education transcripts, court records, medical files, past employers and neighbor interviews, and imprisonment records. The extent of the investigation usually will depend on the employer and the kind of job involved. Jobs related to children, elderly, and disabled usually require extensive investigation.

An investigation on an individual\’s background usually takes 1 to 3 business days only. But if it will include an extensive criminal investigation, it can take 3 to 7 business days. It the investigation will require checking with the FBI, an additional 30 days is necessary.

Although employers can do in-house background investigations, there are a number of companies that do employment screening. There are private investigators or individuals that do the investigation themselves. There are also companies whose expertise is doing these kinds of employment checks. Also, there are also online data brokers. In this day and age of information and technology, an employer can do the background check on his own using the internet. There are available data banks containing commercial and criminal records. However an employer must choose wisely. He/she must make sure that the online data provider follows the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a federal law in the United States of America which controls the collection, distribution, and use of consumer information, including an individual\’s credit records. It was enacted on October 26, 1970.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, bankruptcies after 10 years, civil litigations and judgments including arrest records and date of entry after 7 years, tax liens paid after 7 years, unpaid debts after 7 years, and any other negative information after 7 years except criminal records are not to be included in the background investigation. This applies only to those third party consumer reporting agencies. There are stronger state laws applicable to background investigation and may vary from state to state.

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Category: Legal
Keywords: background check,background investigation