Workers in the United States tend to switch jobs more than those in any other country. The average American changes their job every four years. With employees moving across the country and taking on new jobs in various industries so frequently, companies need to have a background check policy in place when hiring new employees.

What Industries Conduct a Background Check for Employment?

If you own a company, you want to have peace of mind when hiring new workers. One of the best ways to do this is by choosing to run a background check on new hires. This is usually done at the time when you offer the person a job. Several roles in the US require mandatory background checks. While these regulations will vary from one state to the next, here are some of the most common places to work requiring one for new employees.

• Hospitals
• Mental Health Facilities
• Nursing Homes
• Day Care facilities
• Substance abuse facilities
• Schools
• Child placement agencies
• Any profit or non-profit that provides care to sick or disabled people, senior citizens, or children

What Types of Employment Background Checks are Available

The most common types of reports include a criminal background check and checks for credit reports. Other types include driving records, verification of identity, and a lookup of previous addresses. The searches can consist of credential verification, reference checks, and sex offenders’ registries. In some instances, a background check can include searches under the Patriot Act on the terrorist watch list.

What Legal Steps are Involved in a Background Check?

There are four steps that help keep those running a background check completely legal.

Disclosure

All candidates must understand that you are conducting a pre-employment screening when performing a one.

Consent

You must have the consent of the candidate to run the background check. Permission is usually in written form. They must also receive full notification from the agency conducting the report and a copy of their rights under the FCRA.

Investigation

The report is started once the candidate has provided enough personal information for the background check to start.

Review

Employers will receive the report results.  These results can be marked as “clear,” letting them know they can go ahead and hire the candidate. The results can also be marked “consider,” letting them know that something of concern has been found in the search results.

What Happens if a Pre-Employment Background Check Shows Something Negative

If a person’s report comes back clear, they will be free to accept the position. However, if something negative is found, there are several legal steps that the candidate can consider. The candidate has the right to take adverse action and start a legal process when they are denied employment due to something negative appearing on their report. The person will have seven days to dispute the results of their report.

What Rights Does the Candidate Have During the Process of the Background Check?

The person has the right to dispute the report. If their dispute is approved, the screening agents would have to repeat their investigation and pay close attention to the points that led to the dispute. It could mean anything from looking closer at a county court conviction to seeking clarification on mistaken identity or name changes.

Get the Best Background Check for Employment with Soteria

At Soteria, we can help employers perform background checks to ensure their place of business remains safe and secure. For more information about our background checks and services, be sure to visit our website or give us a call.