What Is Background Check For

What do a groundwork bank check prove? Because background checks can reveal highly sensitive data, both employers and job candidates should understand what is included in each type of groundwork bank check and how that information tin legally exist used.

We answer the most frequently asked questions virtually what appears on different kinds of groundwork checks, including employment background checks, criminal background checks, fingerprint background checks, and Level ii background checks.

A quick scan of the background check landscape reveals that at that place are many dissimilar types of groundwork checks. Each type of background bank check uncovers somewhat different personal background information. It's important for both employers and task candidates to empathise what kind of information is included in each type of background check, and how that information can exist used.

Information uncovered in employment background checks is highly sensitive and subject to strict privacy-protection regulations. The use of background checks in connection with hiring decisions is also field of study to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and requirements specified by the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (EEOC). The sharing and retention of this information besides may exist subject to additional country and local guidelines.

When conducting employment background checks, it's important to select a provider that is an accredited FCRA-compliant consumer reporting agency (CRA), such as GoodHire.

Illustration of GoodHires personal background check option

Many employers and job candidates want to know what data is included in a groundwork check, so we've compiled answers to the following mutual questions:

Criminal History

Well-nigh all groundwork checks include a criminal-history check, based on data supplied by the candidate, including their Social Security number. Criminal background checks will reveal felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions, any pending criminal cases, and whatever history of incarceration every bit an adult. Arrests pending prosecution may also exist reported. Arrests that did not pb to convictions may appear in some background checks; GoodHire excludes them in its screenings to conform to EEOC guidelines.

Records of juvenile convictions and detention that have been sealed past a court typically do not appear in these searches, but all other criminal convictions may appear, unless they occurred in a country that forbids disclosure of convictions subsequently a certain period of fourth dimension. Disclosure of convictions more than seven years quondam is forbidden in California, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, New York and Washington. Hawaii forbids disclosure of convictions later 7 years for felonies and five years for misdemeanors [updated nine/21/2020]. (Learn more about how far dorsum a groundwork check goes, or see your state's specific groundwork cheque laws.)

Pre-Employment

Pre-employment background checks typically include criminal-background checks, plus verification of information on past employment, education, and professional licenses.

Depending on the nature of the job under consideration, employers may specify that pre-hiring screenings search candidates' driving records. Employers may likewise require applicants to submit to drug testing equally part of the pre-employment screening procedure. Pre-employment drug screening is required for many jobs that involve operation of motor vehicles, chancy or delicate equipment, and/or in whatsoever role entailing responsibility for the safety of the public, customers, or fellow employees. Learn more in the Complete Guide to Background Checks.

Land and federal laws limit some of what can be reported on employment background checks:

If a candidate is under consideration for a task that pays less than $75,000 annually, information on civil judgments, government sanctions, and disciplinary measures related to whatsoever professional licenseswill notappear in groundwork check results.
However, if the salary for an open position is $75,000 or more, that information may appear in your results, even if it's older than seven years.

GoodHire's background check platform makes it easy to order reports and review results.

Fingerprint

"Fingerprint background check" is something of a catch-all term. As its proper name indicates, it involves the use of a candidate'south fingerprints in addition to other personal information to locate historical information. The advantage of a fingerprint search is certainty that all records associated with a given set of prints vest to the individual in question.

The precise nature of a fingerprint search tin vary, depending on the blazon of data requested past the employer and the databases used past the screening company. Typically, a fingerprint check involves using the FBI criminal-records database, simply other, smaller Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) database systems may be searched instead of, or in addition to, the FBI system.

FBI

Often used to screen candidates for jobs with federal government agencies and companies that work with and for them, an FBI-level background check uncovers any and every interaction a candidate may have had with law enforcement agencies that provide their criminal data to the FBI database. In addition to convictions, this may include arrests (even those that did not lead to indictment or conviction), traffic violations, and even parking tickets.

Applicants must submit to fingerprinting past a recognized law enforcement agency, and their prints are checked against the FBI's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification Organisation (IAFIS), a vast computerized repository of fingerprints compiled past law enforcement agencies, immigration officials, and even past employment screenings. The IACIS database links personal data to fingerprints collected in both criminal and not-criminal matters.

Fingerprints are likewise checked against the National Criminal offence Information Center (NCIC) database, a huge compilation of criminal-history information and data on wanted criminals; and against databases of sex offenders and terrorists.

FBI groundwork checks have come under some scrutiny in recent years, on grounds that bureau databases are not always complete, and considering the records they contain may create disparate impacts in instances involving minority task applicants.

Passing an FBI groundwork check is not the same equally obtaining a security clearance. A groundwork check may exist a first step in the process, only security clearance typically involves a much more than extensive inquiry, including interviews with the subject and others who know him or her well.

What does a Level 2 background check include?

A Level ii groundwork cheque is a specialized type of fingerprint groundwork check typically performed on candidates for jobs that involve working with vulnerable persons, such as children, people with disabilities, and seniors. Level two checks are too often required for volunteer positions at schools, daycares, and senior centers as well as for paid personnel. They are also oftentimes required for adults seeking to adopt or become foster parents.

A Level two background screen checks applicants against databases of information on arrests, convictions, and incarceration related to fierce behavior and crimes confronting children and other vulnerable persons. A Level 2 bank check will even uncover relevant records that take been sealed past courts, including juvenile convictions and detention.

Table shows what shows up on different types of background checks

More Groundwork Check Event FAQs

Practise traffic tickets show upward on a background cheque?

It depends. Many CRAs report traffic infractions as function of the background check. However, GoodHire does not unless an employer specifically requests a check on your driving tape (as they might for jobs that crave use of motor vehicles). If they practice, then speeding tickets and other driving infractions volition appear.

Do DUIs show up on a groundwork cheque?

Driving under the influence (DUI) is a criminal crime and will be reported on a criminal background cheque. If a pre-employment background screening includes a driving record cheque or motor vehicle record cheque (MVR), a DUI conviction is likely to appear in that location as well.

To learn more most DUIs and background checks, see DUIs & Background Checks: What Information technology Ways For Employment.

Do misdemeanors testify upward on a background check?

A criminal background check can include misdemeanor criminal convictions, as well as any pending cases. Misdemeanors are less serious offenses which are typically subject to a potential prison judgement between 15 days and ane twelvemonth in a local prison, or a judgement that doesn't include any jail time merely may include fines, probation and/or community service. Examples of misdemeanors include vandalism, trespassing, public intoxication, and disorderly acquit.

Do arrests show up on a background check?

Arrests that did not lead to convictions may appear in some criminal groundwork checks as long as the filing engagement of the example is within the last seven years, as allowed by federal and state law. Nonetheless, GoodHire excludes them in its screenings to accommodate to Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (EEOC) guidelines.

Practise criminal convictions older than 7 years show up on a background cheque?

In most states they exercise. Some states, though, restrict the release of records that are more than than seven, or in some cases 10, years in the past. Some states besides take restrictions based on the corporeality of salary the candidate volition earn. Kansas, for case, restricts the release of records more than seven years old unless the candidate'due south salary volition exist $20,000 or more annually.

Do warrants show upwardly on a background bank check?

Open arrest warrants (issued when constabulary enforcement gives evidence that a suspect has committed a crime) and bench warrants (issued for failure to appear for a scheduled courtroom proceeding) generally practice non appear equally records in background checks. Yet, one time a warrant has been executed, information technology becomes part of the criminal record, and its existence may be reflected in a criminal background check.

Do dismissed charges bear witness up on a background check?

Cases resulting in dismissal may appear in some criminal background checks. Sometimes, even if the court has sealed case records, the arrest that led to the case may appear in a criminal background search. Federal EEOC guidelines preclude turning down chore candidates on the sole ground of arrests that don't atomic number 82 to conviction. GoodHire excludes dismissed charges from its groundwork cheque results.

Do pending charges evidence upward on a groundwork check?

If a criminal groundwork bank check is requested, pending charges tin can show up. However, there are states that prohibit pending charges from showing upward on background checks. Kentucky prohibits CRAs from reporting pending charges. This applies for all records that come from Kentucky, regardless of where the employer or candidate are located. In Michigan, employers cannot consider pending misdemeanors – merely pending felonies.

Practice restraining orders bear witness upwardly on a background cheque?

A restraining guild (known as an order protection in some states) is considered a ceremonious matter. Information technology generally volition non appear in a criminal background check, unless included every bit a footnote in the sentencing portion of a criminal record, but it may announced in public information databases and websites used past some pre-employment screeners. Violations of these orders are criminal matters, however, and arrests and court cases surrounding them volition appear in criminal background checks.

Practice bankruptcies testify upward on a groundwork check?

Bankruptcies practise non appear in results of criminal background checks, and under the Fair Credit Reporting Deed (FCRA), bankruptcy filings cannot be reported in pre-employment screenings in one case they are 10 years old. Because they are a matter of public tape, bankruptcies are more often than not like shooting fish in a barrel to observe. Filings more than 10 years erstwhile may appear in non-FCRA compliant background checks.

Do expunged or sealed records show upwardly on a background bank check?

When a court expunges a conviction or trial record, the case files are sealed off from public access, and the convicted party or defendant does not have to disembalm the case when asked about their criminal history. Sealed cases are not eligible for disclosure in almost pre-employment groundwork checks. If there is a meaning time delay between the resolution of a case and the conclusion to expunge it, its records may continue to appear in criminal-background database searches until records are updated to reflect the expungement. The existence of expunged convictions that involve mistreatment of children or other vulnerable individuals may be legally reported in Level ii groundwork checks, though unsealing the details of those records typically requires a court order.

What will show upward on your background check?

The contents of background check reports can vary considerably, depending on the nature of information required past the employer, and the number and quality of the data resources used by the screening company. The best way to ensure a cheque complies with federal and local regulations is to work with an FCRA-compliant background check provider, such as GoodHire. And the all-time way to run across what will appear on your FCRA-compliant background check is to run one on yourself.

Disclaimer

The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal communication. Nosotros advise you to consult your ain counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.

Near the Author

Jim Akin is a Connecticut-based freelance writer and editor with feel in employee relations, media relations, and social-media outreach. He has produced content and managed internal communications, business-to-business organisation outreach, and consumer-focused campaigns for clients including Experian, VantageScore Solutions, Pitney Bowes, Medtronic, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola.