Employee Background Checks: Everything You Need to Know

When people decide to do an employee background check, it’s because they want to be sure of a candidate – of its criminal records, driving records, or if they’re on a terror watch list or even sex offender registry. It’s important to do this when you choose people to work for you. Checkthem.com is the best site on the internet for this job.

How much does it cost?

Background checks generally cost between $30 and $80. The price depends on how much info you’re trying to find out, and how fast you need that info. Job history verification, license verification and credit checks usually cost extra.

How to do it?

Have a consistent policy on how to perform background checks

It’s best to have a flow chart, so that everyone will know which step to make and when to make it. Some of them can cause legal issues if not done properly.

Get legal advice on how to use background checks

Background checks can sometimes mean finding sensitive information, and in some states, legally, you cannot find certain information about a person. You need to talk to a lawyer to make sure you know that your background check does not mess with the law, causing legal issues for your company.

Give your candidates the benefit of the doubt

Sometimes, you may find incorrect info about a person. It’s best to give your candidates the benefit of the doubt and let them explain the incorrect info you got after the background check. The person standing in front of you might be a good person, so let him or her prove that before you exclude him or her from your list.

Use services that are FCRA compliant

FCRA stands for Fair Credit Reporting Act and it shows what the things you can or cannot do when performing a background check are. The document gives you info about how you should treat the info according to the perspective of the candidate. Almost all of the background checks are done by FCRA, but it’s good to keep in mind that there are many other laws that might affect them – it all depends on the region or state. Let’s take a clear example: in some states, it’s okay to use criminal background checks or credit for any employee, in other states, only certain employees can be checked.

When it comes to reference checks

A reference check usually happens when you contact a person, like a former employer, to make sure you got the facts right – employment dates and the position held. They’re pretty easy to do. When you reject a candidate because of the info you got in the investigative consumer report, you must give your candidate a copy of that report.