Criminal Record Background Checks
A company’s most valuable asset is its employees.
Background Checks = Better Hires = Better Business
Why are Background Checks Important? Employers check potential and current workers for several reasons. It is your company’s responsibility to know the employee. Negligent hiring lawsuits are on the rise. If an employee’s actions hurt someone, the employer may be liable. The company may be liable for damages if the court determines that the employer “knew or should have known” negative facts of an employee’s background that should have disqualified that employee from having the job.
One bad hiring decision can wreak havoc on a company’s budget and reputation. Employers no longer feel secure in relying on their instinct as a basis to hire.
National Criminal Record Search
Nothing provides better coverage of the United States than our National Criminal Record Database With one search, you can cover more than 400 million criminal records from counties, Dept of Corrections (DOC), Admin of the Court (AOC) and sex offender registries covering all 50 states. (Subject to availability) – Database record results will be verified by county level search as required by the FCRA
- Nationwide Criminal History (Subject to availability)
- State Agency Information
- County Courts Data
State Criminal Record Search
This State Criminal Record Search Database contains criminal record information from various reporting agencies throughout a single state. Sources that may contribute data are Department of Corrections, Administration of Courts, county courts and sex offender registries within a state. (Subject to availability) – Records will be verified by county level search as required by the FCRA
- Dept. Of Corrections
- Admin Office of Courts
- Dept of Public Safety
- County Courts Data
County Criminal Record Search
We have access to every county in the Nation via our network of court researchers…That is over 3000+ courts! All county criminal searches go back a minimum of 7 yrs. Includes information on arrests, felonies & misdemeanors. This is the most accurate way to conduct a criminal record background check .
- Arrests
- Misdemeanors
- Felonies
- 7 years of data
- Fast Turnaround
Federal Criminal Record Search
Federal Courts are different than State Criminal Courts. Some offenses are violations of Federal law as opposed to state or local law. Federal courts cover federal crimes (bank fraud, tax fraud, drug traffic etc…) A Federal Crime will be investigated by the FBI, DEA, ICE, IRS.
- 300 + Federal District Courts
- 94 Federal Judicial Districts
- Tax Evasion, Embezzlement
- Bank Robbery, Drug Trafficking
- White-Collar Crimes, Fraud
Many of our clients include a multi-jurisdictional database (often incorrectly called a “national database”) in their background checks. This is a database of criminal records compiled from various state and county sources by a private company. While it is useful as a source of potential records, it is not reliable as a definitive report of criminal records. We often find mistakes in the database records and the database misses more records than it finds.
When a record is found in the multi-jurisdictional database, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) outlines our responsibilities in ensuring that the data is reliable.
Section 607(b) of the FCRA requires “reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates.”
Section 613(a) of the FCRA requires that a consumer reporting agency (the background screening firm) reporting any potentially adverse public record in an employment-related background check must either:
- At the same time the information is provided to the employer, provide the information to the consumer (the person on whom the background investigation is being conducted), along with the name and address of the employer to whom it is being provided. This is commonly referred to as contemporaneous notification. or
- “Maintain strict procedures” to ensure that the reported information matches the current public record. In other words, verify the record with the court.
More and more law suits are being filed against employers and background screening firms for inaccurate results being reported from national databases as well employer and the background check company not being compliant with the FCRA
In the past, we have sought ways to save our clients the expense of this additional research. However, we have been unable to find a safe way of accomplishing this.
Our policy is that if needed, we will run a SSN verification and a county level(s) search on any database record that is found within the scope that is reportable according to the FCRA.