The Legal Way to Perform Background Checks
Background checks involve the investigation of a person's past to uncover certain details about her private life. These details may include anything from arrests and convictions to credit scores or even marriage history. Employers looking to hire new staff are mostly interested in their existing criminal backgrounds. Still, there are proper procedures: written consent of the person being investigated, applications to only lawful organizations, and hiring decisions made on information as defined in employment laws such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
Performing a Background Check on Yourself through the FBI
-
1
Fill out the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) application form in its entirety, using your personal, legal biographic information. Include the information next to the starred fields, which includes your name as it is written on your social security card. Sign the bottom of the page in ink.
-
2
Press your fingerprints down in ink on the FBI's fingerprint card, form FD-258. Create flat impressions of all ten digits. The card must be an original. Print your name and birth date on the card. Make an appointment at your local police station or sheriff's office to have your fingerprint impressions taken by a trained technician if you are unfamiliar with the standard rolling technique.
-
-
3
Mail the application form, fingerprint card, and money order for $18 to:
FBI CJIS Division -- Record Request
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, WV 26306
Performing Background Checks on Potential Employees
-
4
Hire a third party to conduct the background check on behalf of your organization. The FBI will only process background checks requested by the individual being investigated. External companies can use a variety of means to access background information on a potential hire, such as public records. Consider only those companies whose reputations have been proven to be in accordance with your state's hiring processes. They are usually members of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners.
-
5
Obtain written permission from the potential hire to investigate his background. Employees who can claim that they were not informed of this investigation may have grounds to bring a lawsuit against your organization at a later date.
-
6
Search for the individual through public records databases online.
-
7
Read the laws that your state has established with regard to fair and lawful hiring processes as established by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act govern the length of time certain information is permitted to be considered during the hiring process. This includes bankruptcy, credit scores and more.
-
1
References
Resources
- Photo Credit financial report image by Christopher Hall from Fotolia.com
