So you’ve got the background check results. Now what?

So you’ve requested a background check on your potential hire, and you’ve just been handed the results. What do you do with the employment screening results? Who’s allowed to see them? How should you handle the information you’ve discovered, and what, if anything, should you disclose to the candidate about what their background check has turned up?

First and foremost, there should be a strict level of confidence when it comes to sharing these records. Whether they turn up anything negative or not, they are to remain confidential between the hiring manager, the candidate, and the company’s human resources department.

If anything is uncovered that may give the employer a reason not to hire someone, the employer is required to tell the applicant that their criminal report was reviewed, and they must furnish a copy of the report that cites the infraction in question.

The employer must also provide the job candidate with a copy of the FTC’s Summary of Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. This document informs them of the following rights:

• That he or she must be told if the criminal record has been used to decide not to offer employment.
• That he or she has the right to know what’s in the file.
• That he or she can dispute incomplete or inaccurate information.

The employer also must give the candidate any other information the government has available on their rights concerning background checks.

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Study finds many in-home caregivers hired without background screening

A study out of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine has found that many nursing agencies recruit people with no experience to provide in-home care to seniors, and they don’t perform adequate background checks on those hires.

The study looked at the qualifications of caregivers who visit the homes of the elderly to assist with daily activities such as dressing and meal preparation. Published in the July 13 issue of the Journal of American Geriatrics Society, the study found that many agencies nationwide fail to conduct criminal background checks or drug testing for new hires. Of the 180 agencies researchers surveyed in the study, 55 percent conducted a federal criminal background check and only one-third of those agencies interviewed administered drug tests.

Although laws vary by state, such caregiver agencies don’t tend to be regulated, said Dr. Lee Lindquist, lead author on the study. Nursing homes, whose services can be funded by Medicare and were not part of this study, are regulated. According to background information in the study, the typical aide is a recent female immigrant, earning $7.25 an hour on average or, for live-in help, $5.44 an hour.

Industry experts -- and common sense -- have long maintained that any business involving the elderly, the sick, and the very young should have stringent, across-the-board background check and drug testing policies in place. 

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Top Lies Job Applicants Tell

Even in this digital age, at a time when employers are using background checks and other employment screening tactics to fact-check resumes and vet job applicants, people are still trying to outsmart employers with half-truths, omissions and outright lies. No one is immune to this problem. Even solid candidates with a proven track record of employability and on-the-job success have been caught lying on their resumes, adding a degree they didn’t earn or omitting a place of employment that didn’t end well. 

Luckily, a thorough employment screening will find all the hidden secrets and weed out the bad from the good. To make your life just a little bit easier, however, we’ve compiled a list of the top ways job applicants misrepresent themselves while seeking employment. 

1. The job candidate provides a false date of birth in hopes of throwing off a criminal records search. Most criminal records are filed by name and date of birth; without that information, a search will be fruitless, or incomplete at worst. 
2. The job candidate gives a false Social Security number, in order to hide places he or she has lived, or try to “prove” he or she is legal to work in this country. 
3. The job applicant omits a previous employer from their application or resume. Sometimes they fudge the dates they were employed before and after that mysteriously missing employer, to close the gap in time. When conducting employment verification, verify dates of employment as well as salary. 
4. Applicant makes up an employer.  It’s astounding, but it happens. Job applicants who have what they consider too long of a gap between legitimate employment sometimes invent an organization or obscure company for which they “worked.”
5. The job candidate includes a degree he didn’t earn. Sometimes this is from a legitimate college or university; other times they might have a degree in hand but it’s from an unaccredited university

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Spokeo fined $800k for peddling inaccurate info about job applicants

Employers often rely on background check companies to provide the accurate information needed to make critical hiring decisions. So what happens when the employment screening services you’re paying for can’t be trusted? 

Last week Spokeo, an online data broker, agreed to pay an $800,000 fine to the Federal Communications Commission to settle charges it sold inaccurate information about job applicants and violated consumer protection laws. The FTC charged the broker with marketing profile information to human resource departments for background screenings on prospective employees. According to the complaint, Spokeo provided the information without first taking steps to ensure the information was accurate and without adhering to consumer protections provided by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, credit reporting agencies and other entities that broker certain information about consumers must make an effort to provide fair and accurate information and give people an opportunity to correct inaccurate information about themselves. The data brokers also are supposed to put limits on who can access the information.

Make sure the company you have entrusted to perform employment screening services on your prospective employees is following the law and giving you accurate information. Search until you find a reputable company with no judgments against them. The future of your business depends on it! 

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Is salary history part of your screening process?

Are you an employer who asks for salary history as part of your hiring process? If so, do you use that information to make your decision on whether or not to hire someone? It seems like such a small detail, but could bring legal problems, depending on how that kind of information is gathered and used. 

Asking for salary history is definitely within an employer’s legal rights, and most job applicants are happy to provide such information. If you are using a third party employment screening service to gather such information, however, you must have written pre-approval by the applicant. And if the figures you find come into play when deciding not to hire that person, you are required to let them know, as according to the Fair Credit Reporting Act they have a legal right to explain or correct any errors or information you’ve found. 

While a job applicant is not required to share salary history, some employers have found that asking for it ends up serving as one way to judge character, because lying about one’s salary history is an easy one to catch. 

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Not All Drug Tests Are Created Equal

Everyone knows what drug testing is, but not everyone understands that term does not mean one specific test. There are two main types of drug tests, the 5 panel and the 10 panel, and the one you choose depends on how many different kinds of drugs you want to test for. 

5-Panel Test: This is the standard test with which most employers are familiar. It tests for five drugs: Amphetamine, Cannabinoids (Marijuana), Cocaine, Opiates, and Phencyclidine (PCP). The 5-panel is all that is permitted by the Department of Transportation (DOT) in its mandatory testing program. 

10-Panel Test: For most non-regulated employers, a 10-panel drug test typically will work better than a 5-panel test. However, because employers know some prescription drugs have the potential to become addictive, the 10-panel drug test also screens for several legal drugs that are also known to be drugs of abuse. The test screens for tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, opiates, methadone, barbiturates and methamphetamine.

In addition to the drugs, the 10-panel drug test can also measure characteristics of the urine sample, such as the pH level. Testing the characteristics of the sample can show if the urine has been altered to cheat the test.

Alcohol testing: Regulated breathalyzer testing is used to determine an individual’s breath alcohol level. It can be conducted with certified results through a medical professional.

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DIY employment screening doesn’t save money

Times are tight for just about everyone, and that means smart businesses are finding large and small ways to cut corners. If you are an employer who has decided to conduct your own pre-employment screening rather than hire a professional employment screening service, have you considered all that the do-it-yourself process entails?

First, it’s important to realize how much work is involved with pre-employment screening. First there is the education verification, to ensure the applicant hasn’t padded his or her resume with a degree that wasn’t earned or a learning institution that is not accredited. Then there’s the tedious process of delving into public records to find out what you can about the applicant’s criminal background. The information kept in public records vary from state to state, so multiple searches must be conducted to get the most thorough results. Also the information in a public criminal record varies based on the offense and how many years have gone by since the arrest or conviction.

It’s easy enough to pull an applicant’s credit report, but wading through the pages of information to get a general sense of the person’s financial standing and fiscal responsibility can be difficult if you’re not trained to know what to look for and how to interpret credit score numbers and notes.

Finally, checking references, both professional and personal, can become a full-time job, leaving voicemails, setting up time to call, and keeping track of who you’ve talked to and what they said.

Conducting the entire process yourself might seem like it’s saving you money, but if you added up the hours you lost from your regular duties in order to gather and decipher information about a single candidate, you’d realize your time is much better spent hiring a professional employment screening service, and getting back to whatever it is you do best.

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Dickinson State University audit results show importance of education verification

Diploma mills and degree mills sound like fiction, but they are a very real threat to an employer’s workforce. A recently released audit of Dickinson State University in North Dakota underscores that fact. The audit examined foreign students who have taken part in a special program since 2003 allowing them to earn degrees both from DSU and a university in their home country.

Out of 410 degrees issued through the program in question, 400 of them failed to meet standards for required coursework or credits. DSU had 127 agreements with international schools to have their students study in North Dakota, but of those 127 agreements only four met the requirements to be valid as part of this program.

Such astounding lapses in the collegiate level of academics suggest it is imperative for employers to include education verification as part of the vetting process for all job applicants. The college should be able to produce full transcripts of the student’s time at the college, including all grades and degrees or certifications earned. No pre-employment screening is complete without this important step.

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Not every job is the same, so not every background check should be the same

Any good businessperson knows that you can’t pigeon-hole your employees to fit whatever job happens to be open. It takes certain skill sets, experience and even personality to suit certain jobs.

The same is true for employment screening. Putting every employee through the exact same screening process regardless of the job they’d be performing for your company is not efficient or all that useful. Instituting a policy of having every prospective employee undergo a background check is definitely a step in the right direction. But don’t just put everyone through the exact same background check. Think about the various roles your employees perform for your company, and tailor the screenings to their jobs. For example, it might not be all that helpful to make employees who don’t do any driving or delivering for your company undergo a driver’s license check. Also, save the credit checks for just those employees who will be handling funds or be responsible for the company’s (or fellow employees’) money.

There are, however, some types of background checks that are wise to use across the board for all employees. This includes taking a look at everyone’s criminal record and verifying previous employment.

As an employer, you’re expected to take the necessary precautions to keep your employees and your company’s goods, services and reputation safe. To do this effectively, you must implement some background screening processes. Just don’t put everyone through the same cookie cutter process. It’s a waste of time, money and resources.

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O’Hare airport starts background check program for passengers

Background checks are making their way into airports, but not for airport and airline employees – for travelers!

We all know it’s been a hassle – but a largely necessary one – to be subjected to a higher level of airport security in the last decade. Now frequent fliers of American Airlines through O’Hare International Airport and nine other airports across the country have instituted Transportation Security Administration’s PreCheck program, which allows travelers to go through a special background check process before they fly.

If they pass the pre-screening, a special bar code is printed on their boarding passes, allowing them to go through a special security line at the airport whenever they travel. That security line allows them to keep on their shoes, hats, jackets and belts, and allows them to leave their laptops in cases and liquid toiletries packed safely away.

The use of background checks have been increasing across just about all industries in recent years. This is an example of how they can be used to increase not only safety but convenience for people.

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PA background check law for schools being challenged

A Pennsylvania law that’s been revised to protect children has some school employees filing suits trying to keep their jobs.

According to the Associated Press, at least four lawsuits have been filed around the commonwealth challenging the state Department of Education’s application of new rules about criminal records to current employees. Under the law that took effect last fall, school employees must report any arrests or convictions of serious crimes in their past and must also report any future arrest or conviction within three days. The requirement applies to crimes such as homicide, kidnapping, sexual assault or aggravated assault and applies to teachers, administrators, support staff and contractors.

The department has told administrators to fire any employee who comes into contact with children and has been convicted of any of the 28 listed offenses. The lawsuits, filed in Allegheny, Dauphin, Delaware and York counties, argue that the law should be interpreted to only pertain to future employees, not current ones. They further argue that the law is unconstitutional because it violates the due process rights of employees since it essentially penalizes them for crimes for which they’ve already been punished.

Time will tell whether the courts find any merit in these lawsuits, but we’ll certainly keep tabs on this issue. 

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Employment screening just as important for small businesses

Are background checks only necessary for large companies? Many think pre-employment screening can and should be done when a company is in the position to hire so many people that there’s a greater risk of a potential problem employee slipping through the cracks.

Conversely, employers of smaller companies sometimes believe they have more time to spend face to face with a candidate during an interview judging someone’s character. They assume they are more thorough in their reference-checking for employment verification. They believe that because their staff is smaller and they get to know each employee fairly well, that their employees are like family and needn’t be subjected to drug testing and credit checks.

Fact is, small business owners should have a pre-employment screening process in place just like employers of large companies. In fact it could be even more important for small business owners, because unlike large corporations, small business owners are often unable to absorb the risks and liability that may come from bad hiring decisions. If you don’t have employment screening protocols in place, don’t delay. The investment you make today in tomorrow’s staff will be well worth it.

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Unemployment rate falls slightly as a quarter-million jobs were added in January

There’s good news for the job market and the U.S. economy according to the January 2012 employment numbers released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Statistics reveal total nonfarm payroll employment added 243,000 jobs in January 2012 while the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent.

The number of unemployed persons fell to 12.8 million, dropping the unemployment rate by 0.2 percentage point in January.

Private-sector employment grew by 257,000, with the largest employment gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing.

·   Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs. About half of the increase occurred in employment services (+33,000). Job gains also occurred in accounting and bookkeeping (+13,000) and in architectural and engineering services (+7,000).

·   The leisure and hospitality industry workforce increased by 44,000, primarily in food services and drinking places (+33,000).

·   Health care employment added 31,000 jobs. Within the industry, hospitals and ambulatory care services each added 13,000 jobs. 

·   Government employment was little changed over the month.

·   Wholesale trade employment increased by 14,000.

·   Manufacturing added 50,000 jobs, nearly all of them in durable goods manufacturing, with job growth in fabricated metal products (+11,000), machinery (+11,000), and motor vehicles and parts (+8,000).

An increase in new jobs translates to an increased need for pre-employment background checks. Make sure your company has hired the very best when it comes to employment screening, in order to ensure every new employee is qualified and deserving of the job.

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Number of diploma mills in U.S. jumped 20 percent in 2011

The job market is tough, and more people are responding to the increased competition by falling for — or knowingly using — diploma mills that offer fake degrees and false education credentials. According to Verifile Limited’s second annual Accredibase report, there was a 48 percent increase worldwide in the number of known fake diploma mills in the past year. These are mostly online entities that lack valid accreditation and recognition but somehow coerce unsuspecting — or desperate — people to pay good money for useless degrees.

According to the 2011 report, the United States remains the world’s fake college capital. Last year saw a 20 percent increase in known diploma mills in this country, up from 810 to 1,008. While more than 40 percent of the diploma mills operate in California, Hawaii, Washington and Florida, the report reveals that Washington D.C. has seen the sharpest increase among US states, rising from 19 to 33 mills over the past year.

As employers are getting hip to the trick and instituting broader processes for education verification, some of these diploma mills have gone so far as to create fake accreditation agencies to give the fake schools false verification.

Be sure your employment screening service has a thorough education verification process in place, so you can be sure your candidates have the credentials and educational background they claim to have.

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Top 5 Ways Job Applicants Lie on a Resumé

If you think job applicants don’t fudge their resumés, you’re wrong. Despite how easy it is to check references and conduct a social media background check on sites like LinkedIn to find discrepancies in dates and responsibilities, many applicants still rely on lies and half-truths to boost their purported experience and expertise. According to a survey done by Forensic Psychology, 31 percent of those surveyed admitted to lying on a resumé, and the breakdown of lies is as follows:

1.      Salary. Twenty-seven percent of those surveyed said they boosted their current and/or former salary figures in order to grab more dough at their new job. However, more employers are requesting to review a job applicant’s last W-2 statement as part of their employment screening process, so this lie could come back to haunt applicants.

2.      Credentials. Twelve percent said they lied about their education, whether falsifying degrees earned or where they went to school. A professional pre-employment background check should catch this lie easily.

3.      Job performance. Fifteen percent said they’d embellished details of their professional accomplishments.

4.      Job responsibilities. Nineteen percent said they’d stretched the truth on what responsibilities they’d had, whether it was how many people they’d managed or what role they played in a group project or company success.

5.      Job skills. This one is perhaps the riskiest lie of all, but 17 percent said they’d fudged the skills they have in order to get a job requiring that skill.

Employers should keep these possible lies in mind when reviewing job applicant resumés and conducting background checks.


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