Background Check Employee FAQ

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20 Background Check Questions

• Employee Edition

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1. How Much Does a Background Check Cost?

• The price of the background check is dependent
  upon the scope and type of information that you
  wish to receive.
• A simple criminal instant background check might
  give you the information you are looking for, but
  in other situations you might want to order a
  comprehensive check made up of different
  criminal, civil and verification searches.

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2. Will my old conviction, probation, or arrest
show up on a background check?

• One of the best ways to check this is to perform
  a background check on yourself to find out. It
  truly depends on --
• How long ago that the conviction happened
• The nature of the crime
• The state where you live
• If you have had your conviction expunged, make
  sure that the record of your expungement has
  reached all private criminal databases through
  the expungementclearinghouse.org.

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3. Will a criminal record automatically
disqualify me from getting a job?

• No. Having a criminal record alone is not
  immediate grounds for denial.
• Offering employment is based on three primary
  factors
• The severity and nature of the crime
• How far in the past the sentence was completed
• What type of job that youre applying for

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4. Can an employer check my credit as a condition
of employment?

• Depending on the job and situation, yes, they can
  order an employment focused credit report.
• Current employers can request an employment
  report which reveals information about your
  payment histories and other credit issues.
• It does NOT tell the employer your credit score.
  This type of request also doesnt get placed into
  your credit report as a hard inquiry.

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5. Can my employer still do a background check if
Ive been with them a long time?

• Yes. The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows
  employers to do background checks on both current
  employees and new applicants.

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6. I was turned down for a job because of a
background check. What can I do?

• If the information reported was correct, up to
  date and about you, there is little you can do.
• But background checks which were conducted by
  third party screening companies (like
  backgroundchecks.com) fall under the same rules
  as the credit bureaus. You can dispute incorrect
  finding just as you would information from a
  credit bureau.
• Now, if the employer performed the background
  checks on their own, these rules from the FCRA do
  not apply.

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7. Does the FCRA restrict what employers can ask
on the application?

• No, but there are other state and local laws
  which may play a part in the questions which are
  being asked.

For instance, California state laws allow
employers to ask, job related questions about
convictions except those that have been sealed,
or expunged, or statutorily eradicated, but
there can be no general questions regarding an
arrest.
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8. What happens if the background check is
inaccurate?

• While it is a very rare occurrence, there are
  times where the third party background check
  company provides the wrong information. Once you
  realize that the information is wrong, you should
  send a written dispute to the third party company
  who filed this report.
• The company then has 30 days to investigate and
  get back to you with their findings and their
  solution. If they find that your dispute is
  valid, they will likely update the report and
  issue a new one to your prospective employer.

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9. The background check company has removed my
wrong information.Does the employer have to
reinstate the offer?

• No. The employer is under no legal obligation to
  reinstate the job offer once you have been turned
  down for the position based on your background
  check.

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10. I want to see my background check. How do I
do that?

• The easiest way to get a background check
  performed on yourself is to go to
  backgroundchecks.com and input your personal
  information into the areas provided.
• The proprietary database gathers information from
  millions of records to provide you with the most
  accurate background check available.

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11. Do employment background checks include
medical information?

• Looking up medical information not only requires
  that you give your permission, but it also
  requires that the information would be relevant
  to the employment that you are seeking.

If you need to take a pre-employment physical,
it can only be done after a job offer.
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12. Can nonprofit organizations do background
checks when screening volunteers?

• Yes. Common sense dictates that the rules that
  apply for volunteer screening are the same as for
  potential employers.

Background checks are vital for those new
volunteers who are working closely with the
elderly, disabled, or children.
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13. Can I be fired based on information in a
background check?

• Only an attorney can give you that information.

Check with an employment law attorney in your
area to get the specifics on laws within your
state.
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14. How do I pass a background check?

• The best thing to do is be absolutely honest with
  your employer about any past mishaps that you
  might have had (unless those records have been
  expunged).

There are factors which go above and beyond the
background check which play into choosing to hire
and employee.
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15. How long does it take to complete a
background check?

• That honestly depends on how comprehensive you
  wish the background check to be. In some cases,
  the background check can be done in a few
  seconds, while verification of criminal records
  at a specific court house can take up to a few
  days.

In others, because of the time it takes for
verification sources to report to the background
check company, it can take up to a week or two
for information to be received.
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16. How far back do background checks go?

• In many cases, the information which is being
  asked for goes back around seven years. This
  answer, however, can be more complicated
  depending on the nature of the check which is
  being performed.
• In most cases, there is a check on --
• Criminal records
• Employment records
• Where the person has lived

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17. What do employers look for in a background
check?

• Most employers conduct background checks to find
  out whether you were being truthful in the
  application process. Special attention is
  occasionally paid to your --
• Driving record
• Criminal history
• Past employment claims
• Basically, anything that they feel would have an
• impact on the job for which you were applying.

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18. Will employers use social media to do a
background check?
Its not recommended. Social media information is
not related to the job, nor is it related to
anything that the employer really needs to see.

• There are several jurisdictions which already do
  not allow obtaining information about social
  media accounts. So, they might ask for your
  social media information, but you are under no
  obligation to provide it.

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19. Why do they conduct background checks in the
first place?

• Background checks protect everyone involved at
  the company as well as demonstrate that the
  company has gone through normal procedures in its
  hiring process.

They also want to make sure that the applicant is
telling the truth within the course of the check.
Its not a cause to mistrust the leadership
within the company that youre applying for.
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20. Can Employers do background checks without my
permission?

• No. The information that they must use to
  perform the background check must be provided by
  you.

You have to give permission to let them run a
credit check or other type of background check.