Pre Employment Criminal Background Screen

Doing criminal background checks is becoming more and more important these days. Businesses are slowly realizing the importance of performing free background checks on prospective employees. Theyknow that it is better to spend money on checking for a person’s credibility and integrity than to spend much more on resulting lawsuits that may happen and other very unfortunate incidents. A whole lot of security issues have arisen especially after the September 11 terrorist attacks so most likely, if you’ve applied for a job, your employer will conduct a criminal record search on you.

Larger employers are especially eager to know more about their people they hire because some employees give an exaggerated or not trustworthy account of their actions and experiences and translate these onto a faulty resume. Still, other big companies are forced to do background checks because the state and federal agencies require criminal background searches for particular jobs, especially those companies that deal with younger children, the disabled or the elderly.

It is important to be aware however, that your employer must get your consent to conduct a background check on you. It is illegal for an employer to just randomly conduct a background check on you without your permission. If he wants to have access to your medical records, or if an agency wishes to see a report of your financial status, they must ask for your permission first. Even if the employer just wants to talk to your neighbors, associates, former colleagues or friends, you must still give your consent for him to do so. You must give your consent by signing a form separate from your application form and prepared especially for this purpose.

Once you do give your consent, your employer now has free reign to inquire on certain areas. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, areas of inquiry might include credit records, criminal records, medical records, drug test records, past employers, vehicle registration, social security number, property ownership records.

Most free background checks just focus on the educational background, financial or credit history, criminal history if any, motor vehicle history and of course, employment history. It is essential therefore, to be as honest in your resume as you possibly can because your employer will be able to verify the information you have written there. Companies or employers can find out the information on their own or hire what’s known as consumer reporting agencies. There are plenty of reputable agencies out there but there are some which are also bogus so employers should also investigate the agencies who will also do the investigating.

Additionally, employees are also encouraged to perform a background check on the companies they wish to join. This is so they can get a better idea of the status of the company they are applying for.