Advanced Surveillance Group Inc.

Employee Background Checks

When looking for a job, it is becoming more and more common to run across an employer that will ask to do a background check. An employer will often contact a private investigator to run these background checks for them. In turn the private investigator will gather information that the employer will use to help decide whether or not to hire a job candidate.

Why run a background check?

There are many reasons why an employer will decide to run a background check. Due to September 11, 2001 and the fall of Enron in 2002, many employers are finding that they can’t be too careful about why they are hiring. Also, it is estimated that approximately 40% of all job applications have false information on them. Therefore, it’s easier for the employer to ask a private investigator to run a background check on someone then to risk hiring someone who could possibly hurt his or her employees or the company as a whole.

What is and isn’t included in a background check?

A private investigator can run background checks to various degrees. Some will only simply verify that the applicant’s social security number is correct and others will go as in depth as the candidate’s past employers, their credit report, any criminal record they might have, bankruptcy info, etc. Since a lot of this information comes from the government’s public records, it is fairly easy to come by.

When running a background check the private investigator needs to follow the Fair Credit Report Act’s (FCRA) national standards. If ten years have gone by a private investigator can’t disclose any bankruptcies the job candidate may have had. Also, any type of civil suit or judgment, arrest, accounts that have gone to collections or any other negative information after seven years have passed.

Can background checks be conducted without fair warning?

According to the FCRA the employer needs to have a job candidate must authorize the background check before the employer can contact the private investigator. This authorization needs to be given to the applicant as a completely separate document than the application so they are clear on what they are signing. At this time the employer should also inform them that once the private investigator runs the background check he or she is entitled to a copy.

What if an employer doesn’t hire a candidate due to the results of the background check?

When the private investigator gives an employer a negative background check the employer will often decide not to hire the candidate. However, if this happens the FCRA’s guidelines state that the employer must do two things. The first thing the employer must do is give the applicant an “adverse action disclosure” before they inform them that they have not been hired. Included in this disclosure is a copy of the report and the candidate’s rights. Once the disclosure has been given the employer can then inform that applicant that they have not been chosen for the job. After the employer informs the candidate of this they need to provide them with an “adverse action notice”. This notice includes the private investigator’s name, address and phone number. The notice also states that the private investigator did not make the decision to not hire the applicant, rather the employer did and that the candidate has the right to dispute any of the information on the report.