How To Do A Background Check For Employment

Employers use background checks to verify a candidate’s eligibility for a role, which may include criminal history, education and work history, professional references, driving records, and more. In some cases, employment background screenings may be required by law.

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Conducting employment background checks helps you make smarter hiring decisions, but it’s important your background check process is consistent, legal, and fair. Here’s what hiring managers need to know about how to do a background check for employment. 

What Is An Employment Background Check‌? 

A background check for employment searches public records, databases, and other sources to gather and verify information about a job candidate or volunteer. Background checks are generally used by hiring managers to determine a candidate’s eligibility and qualifications for a role beyond a resume or job application. Information that shows up during a background check depends on the screening selected, but often includes criminal records, driving history, and previous employers. Employers may also conduct ongoing employee background checks in certain industries, like commercial trucking. 

Before looking into a candidate’s history, it’s important for organizations to first understand how to do a background check for employment. Employers typically must follow different regulations when conducting background checks, including federal, state, and local fair hiring laws. 

The Importance of Background Checks For Employers

Employers conduct background checks to verify candidate qualifications, ensure workplace safety, manage risk, build trust, and maintain compliance. Federal, state, and local laws may require background checks when hiring for certain positions and certain industries or sensitive positions may require screenings, such as criminal background checks for employment. 

For example, many states require background checks for caregiver positions that work with vulnerable populations, like children and seniors. School bus drivers are often subject to criminal history and motor vehicle record checks and rideshare drivers are typically required to undergo a background check before they can transport passengers. Healthcare roles also generally require robust background checks, including criminal background checks and professional license verification. 

Background checks for employment can be conducted manually or by partnering with a qualified background check provider, like GoodHire. Performing background screenings in-house is often a time-consuming process, involving manual searches of public and non-public records, like court records and professional references. While some records may be available online, many types of records need to be requested by mail, over the phone, or in person. 

Companies that choose to work with a background check provider often experience a streamlined background check process with faster turnaround times and more accurate results, in addition to compliance support. 

Types of Background Checks for Employment 

Employers can choose from many different types of background checks based on your company background check policy and industry regulations. Employment background checks often include criminal record searches, driving record checks, and drug screenings. Employers may also verify employment, education or professional licenses, check professional references, or review a candidate’s civil court records or credit history. 

What Does A Background Check Show?

What shows up on a background check depends on the type of screening, who is conducting the search, and other factors like laws and regulations. Here’s a closer look what shows up on common types of background checks:

• Criminal record checks report a candidate’s criminal record, which may include misdemeanor and felony criminal convictions, arrest records, and pending criminal charges. Criminal record searches may return federal, state, and county records depending on the scope of the search. Employers use criminal record checks to assess whether a candidate could pose a threat to customers or create an unsafe work environment.
• Employment verification confirms information about a candidate’s past employment, such as employer names, positions held, and employment dates. Employment history verification can confirm the information provided by a candidate is true and the work experience is sufficient to meet the position’s requirements. 
• Education verification confirms a candidate’s academic enrollment, dates of attendance, and degrees earned. An education verification can help mitigate the risk of hiring a candidate with false credentials.
• Driving record checks show a candidate’s motor vehicle records (MVRs) for driving-related information like license status, moving violations, accidents, or DUIs. This may be important for positions where employees, volunteers, or contractors will operate motor vehicles for business purposes.
• Civil court checks report a candidate’s history of lawsuits, judgments, liens, and other non-criminal court records. These checks may be especially important for positions where employees will have financial or management responsibilities.
• Credit checks show a candidate’s credit and payment history, bankruptcies, and accounts in collections. Reviewing credit history may be required for some jobs, and may be particularly important for positions where access to financial assets, transactions, and decisions are a primary responsibility.
• Drug testing screens a candidate for the use of controlled substances, including prescription and illicit drugs. Routine employment drug testing may help employers maintain a safer, more productive workplace.
• Healthcare sanctions checks report penalties, suspensions, or disciplinary actions taken against a healthcare professional. This helps you comply with federal regulations and confirm your healthcare practitioners are in good standing.

How To Run Employment Background Checks

How to run employment background checks will depend if you choose to conduct searches on your own or partner with a consumer reporting agency (CRA), like GoodHire. Here are key steps to consider when performing background checks. 

Step 1: Create An Employment Background Check Policy

A background check policy documents the details of your screening program, so it can be applied consistently across your organization. This policy should generally include the following:

1. Which types of background checks will be conducted, and for whom. It’s a best practice to implement background screening across your entire organization, but tailor the employment screening packages by position. For example, you may wish to require credit checks for positions that manage money, and driving record checks for positions that involve operating motor vehicles.
2. How background check results will affect employment decisions. Your background check policy should specify what types of information you will consider in employment decisions. It’s considered a best practice to take into account the nature of the position sought, the nature of the crime, and the amount of time since the conviction occurred.
3. When background checks will be conducted. Decide the recruitment process stage in which you plan to screen candidates, and the intervals at which you plan to screen current employees. Federal law allows an employer to conduct employment screening at any point after getting the candidate’s consent, but state and local laws may be more restrictive.

A written background check policy helps you ensure a fair and transparent process, prevent discrimination, and avoid litigation and enforcement from federal agencies.

Step 2: Understand Legal Compliance

Background checks are governed by federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The employer is ultimately responsible for compliance, and failure to do so can result in costly fines, settlements, and lawsuits.

Here are four areas of federal compliance to note:

1. Consent forms: The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires employers to inform candidates in writing that a background check will be run for employment purposes. This disclosure needs to be clear and conspicuous and provided as a stand-alone document.
2. Adverse action: The FCRA also requires employers to follow the three-step adverse action process when they intend to take an unfavorable action based on the results of a background check. Employers must send a pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the background report and a Summary of Rights. Then they must give the candidate reasonable time for the candidate to respond (typically five business days) before sending an adverse action notice.
3. Ban the Box: Ban the Box laws vary among states and municipalities. These regulations may impact when employers can ask about a candidate’s criminal history or affect the timing of when employers can request a background check, such as waiting after the first interview or after a conditional offer is made. Ban the Box laws may also affect the adverse action process, so be sure to check applicable laws.
4. Title VII: The EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting employer discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Review your background screening policies so it doesn’t result in adverse treatment toward a protected group, especially minority populations that are arrested at disproportionate rates.

Step 3: Choose a Background Check Company

Every business is unique, and it’s important to choose a background check provider that best fits your specific hiring and screening needs. The best background check service for your company will depend on your hiring volume, business size, number of locations, size of your HR team, budget, background screening policy, and in-house legal counsel. Some features to consider include:

• Built-in compliance: Go beyond FCRA compliance to mitigate risk of unfair hiring practices, as well as lawsuits and penalties related to EEOC, ban-the-box, and local regulations — particularly if you hire across multiple locations.
• Integrated adverse action workflows: Ease compliance with built-in, localized adverse action workflows that alert you when to send pre-adverse and final adverse action notices.
• Individualized assessments: Reduce scrutiny by the EEOC with a built-in way to inform you when individualized assessments are recommended or required.
• Flexible packages: Avoid over-screening candidates and reduce processing times with the right background checks for your industry, position type, and county.
• Candidate experience: Mobile-friendly workflows and digital consent make starting a check quick and easy. Provide a transparent process for candidates with the ability to log in and see their own background check status and report, from any device.
• Integrations: Reduce manual workflows with a seamless integration to your ATS or HRIS platforms.

Step 4: Communicate with Candidates

It’s important for employers to communicate with candidates about your background check process so they know what to expect. Be open with your candidates about why you’re conducting the background check, and encourage openness in return. Let the candidate know that they’re welcome to see their background check results, dispute any inaccurate information, and add comments in writing, or speak with you, to explain any alerts. Candidates have rights under the FCRA, as described in the document A Summary of Your Rights. 

How to Do a Background Check On Yourself For Employment

Candidates may want to see what may show up if a prospective employer runs a background check. Or, in certain cases, employers may ask a candidate to provide certified background check reports, like an MVRs. How to run a background check on yourself for employment varies, depending on the type of records needed and how the search is conducted. 

Individuals can choose to run a personal background check using a screening provider, like GoodHire, or by contacting law enforcement agencies and courts directly to order copies of reports by phone, online, mail, or in person. 

GoodHire’s personal background check includes a Social Security number trace, sex offender registry check, global watchlist search, and various criminal record searches for a flat fee. Reports can be easily ordered online and results are available for review through the candidate portal.

Start Running Fast, Accurate Background Checks 

Conducting pre-employment background checks can help employers make more informed hiring decisions, create safer workplaces, and mitigate risk. Working with GoodHire to perform employment screenings creates a more streamlined background check process with fast, accurate, compliant results — meaning faster time to hire. GoodHire offers 100+ screening options along with a user-friendly online platform and automated workflows that create a smooth experience for employers and candidates every step of the way. Get started.

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