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Q:
What is the difference between a County, National and Federal Criminal Search?
A:There are some proprietary databases of criminal histories which collection information on a nationwide basis from many different sources. This is known as a national criminal database. There are no publicly maintained “national” criminal databases from which the general public can access. Some background screening companies maintain private or proprietary criminal history databases, and others will subscribe to third party aggregators of criminal histories. County searches are very pointed specific searches in a courthouse of the county in which the subject of the search may have works or resided. It is a search of one courthouse’s records. While a national criminal database can be considered to be “an inch deep and a mile wide”, a county courthouse search is “a mile deep and an inch wide.” A federal criminal search covers federal crimes that are federally prosecuted and typically not included in either county or statewide criminal checks.
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Q:
If a report on one of my candidates contains a criminal record, can I exclude the candidate because of this criminal conviction?
A:Consult with your own legal advisors for your particular circumstance. There are laws in some states that limit or restrict employers from making adverse employment decisions based solely on a criminal history. Likewise, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance in 2012 on the Equal Employment Opportunity Act, and on the use of criminal and arrest records to recommend that employers do not automatically disqualify an individual based solely on criminal history as potentially being in violation of the Act. While the guidance is not law, the EEOC recommends specific factors employers weigh when assessing whether the existence of a criminal record is sufficient for job exclusion.
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Q:
What if some information in my candidate’s background report concerns me?
A:Before you take any adverse employment decision, (e.g. reject a job application, reassign or terminate an employee, or deny a promotion) known as "adverse action," based in whole or in part on information on a consumer’s background report, you must provide the consumer a Pre-Adverse Action notice along with a copy of the consumer’s report.
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Q:
How much does it cost to run a search on a candidate?
A:With BackgroundDirect®, you pay as you go for the reports you choose to order. You can select one of our packaged solutions with individual add-on reports that can be included with any package.
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Q:
What searches do you offer?
A:Social Security Number Validation – Confirmation that your candidate is using a valid social security number.
National Criminal Check - It’s important to know who you’re hiring, so we research if your candidate has been convicted of a felony or serious misdemeanor. This is an automated search; however, it may not uncover all of an individual’s criminal history.
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- County Criminal Check – You get the most detailed and up-to-date information by sending a court runner to manually check the candidate’s local county court records, but you’ve got better things to do so we’ll send a court runner there on your behalf if necessary. This information is very detailed, however it can be time consuming depending on the county you are checking in, so many clients select only a few counties to run checks generally including the counties a candidate has lived or worked for the last seven years.
- Terrorist Watch List Check (aka Global Sanctions) – We’ll validate that your candidate isn’t a known terrorist, drug trafficker or importer of weapons of mass destruction.
- Sex Offender Registry Check - We’ll check if your candidate is on a sex offender registry.
- Education Verification – We’ll call the schools you specify directly and verify your candidates’ educational background.
- Employer Verification - Sometimes candidates enhance their resume; we’ll contact any previous employer you specify to verify your candidate’s position.
- Motor Vehicle Records Check – If your candidate is driving a company vehicle you’ll want to ensure they have a valid driver’s license and a clean driving history.
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Q:
How do I get my results?
A:We’ll notify you as soon as the results are in via email. Your results can be found when you sign in to BackgroundDirect®.
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Q:
How long does it take to get my results?
A:Delivery time varies based on the searches you are running on a candidate; however, before you will receive your first full report we need to validate your business. Don’t worry though, you can still order reports and we will email you as soon as your business is verified so that you can check your results.
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The fastest reports we offer are in the Choice package; they will usually be returned within 24 hours. The Plus package can take slightly longer do to the complexity surrounding an on-site county criminal record check and Terrorist Watch check; this typically takes 1-3 days. The Premium package, which is the most comprehensive, can take up to 3-5 days to complete.
Every time you conduct a new search we’ll provide you an estimated time for completion, but you’ll be able to view each section of the report as the results are returned instead of having to wait for everything to be finished. We’ll show you the average turnaround times for the different reports you select when you place your order.
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Q:
Where can I find old reports?
A:Reports will archive automatically after 90 days. To review your reports you can click on “View Archived/Older Reports”.
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Q:
Do I get a hard copy of my reports?
A:No, your reports are only available online.
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Q:
Does your system allow me to save search results on my hard drive?
A:Yes, you can save your report to your hard drive.
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Q:
How do I know what parts of my report are complete?
A:BackgroundDirect® will send an email each time a part of your report is completed. You can check the report throughout the screening process and you can always see the status of your report on the Candidate Report Vault located at the bottom of the screen on the product homepage.
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Q:
Is my candidate’s sensitive information stored securely?
A:Of course! Our platform uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for encrypting all personal information online, including your candidate’s information and your payment methods.
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Q:
How do I check the status of my report?
A:You can check the status of your report by visiting the Candidate Report Vault located at the bottom of the screen on the product homepage.