Background screening, a.k.a., background “checking” or a background check, is the process of researching and consolidating a variety of employment, educational, criminal, financial and personal records about an individual or organization for the purpose of evaluation for employment or residential purposes.
You’ve worked hard to build your business and you need to obtain a comprehensive picture of the person with whom you want to work.
Searches more than 700 US based newspapers, magazines, journals and other media sources to provide adverse content that may be related to your U.S. candidates
Negligent hiring is a claim made by an injured party against an employer based on the theory that the employer knew or should have known about the employee’s background which, if known, should have disqualified the individual from consideration.
In addition to obtaining written consent to conduct a background check, you must first collect your candidate’s first, middle and last name, as well as the correct date of birth (DOB), government ID or social security number, and home addresses from the last 7 years if possible.
Our information is compiled from FCRA-certified resources. Our experienced teams handle the court record checks by going straight to the source (whether on-site at the courthouse) or through appropriate technology. For employment and education verifications, we will determine if the information is available in an approved database or will go directly to the source. Other data sources will depend on the searches requested as part of the background check.
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.
Our platform uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for encrypting all personal information online, including your business information and your payment methods. When you are logged in to our site, you will notice there’s a HTTPS, instead of an HTTP in the URL so you can visually see that you are in a secured location of our site.
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.
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.
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.
Of course! Our platform uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for encrypting all personal information online, including your candidate’s information and your payment methods.
Yes. First Advantage has a direct channel to the FBI, allowing us to electronically transmit fingerprint and fingerprint data to the FBI on a federal submission level. This does not apply to state-submission fingerprints. Customers can purchase channeling and non-channeling services from First Advantage. Channeling is just the submission to the FBI while non-channeling services include the ability to store the rap sheet, adjudicate the rap sheet, and perform rap sheet reconciliation.
Banks, Credit Unions, Public Housing Authorities Can First Advantage perform pre-employment fingerprint checks for financial institutions that are not banks or credit unions? No. If a financial institution is SEC-regulated instead of FDIC-regulated, they are required to submit fingerprints directly to a Self-Regulatory Office (SRO) for pre-employment fingerprint-based background checks.
The FCRA as well as other state and local employment laws come into play in making employment decisions based on the use of a background screening report.
In the U.S., the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and other state and local laws require the employer or property to make certain disclosures and obtain the written or electronic consent of the candidate prior to requesting a background check be performed.
Because the FCRA stipulates that First Advantage, a Consumer Reporting Agency, can only provide reports to people we believe intend to use the information for an FCRA permissible purpose such as employment and tenant screening purposes, we need to verify that you have a legitimate business need to request background reports.
The information gathered by a consumer reporting agency is far more complex, more thorough and comprehensive and likewise potentially more compliant with laws and regulations than the information that may be obtained from a cursory search on a web-based search.
Adverse action refers to an adverse employment decision based in whole or in part on the content of the consumer’s background screening report. Examples of adverse action include, denial of employment or any other decision for employment purposes that adversely affects any current or prospective employee.
Following the pre-adverse action notice, after a reasonable period of time has passed, the employer is required to issue an Adverse Action notice which should include certain required pieces of information include the name and contact information for the consumer reporting agency and the ability to obtain a copy of the consumer report.
Employers should be aware that the FCRA, as well as state law, places limitations on information that can be reported by a background screening company. To comply with employment law, consumer reporting agencies cannot include certain items in a consumer report.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has rulemaking authority under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, while the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces the FCRA. In addition, enforcement of state and local laws and regulations may have other agencies or law enforcement authority.
The phrase “consumer dispute” encompasses broad areas of the law involving a challenge that a consumer may have against a retailer, a manufacturer, a wholesaler or any company selling a product or a service. In the context of a background screening report, it refers to the consumer’s challenge or dispute about the accuracy of the content in the consumer’s background screening report.
Under the FCRA, both the consumer reporting company and the information provider are responsible for correcting inaccurate or incomplete information in your report.
While all specimen types have their advantages, urine testing is by far the most common, flexible and customizable. With so many combinations of illicit drugs available for testing, with urine testing there is a panel option for almost any testing reason.
Alternatives include point-of-collection and testing methodology options as well as testing specimens beyond urine—oral fluids or hair. These alternative methodologies/specimens have opened a multitude of program possibilities for employers. These alternatives can enhance employers’ efforts to ensure a drug free workplace by making it more difficult for applicants and employees to subvert the process during specimen collection. They are also viable, logistically attractive, and cost-effective program solutions available now. An employer’s practical and logistical considerations often drive an organization’s selection of alternative methodologies—offering a number of convenient and cost-effective testing options.
The use of lab based oral fluids tests is widely accepted under state law and has become a very popular and effective solution for many employers. This methodology detects the SAMHSA five drugs and offers some extended panel testing, identifies recent usage, permits a donor to collect their own specimen under direct visual supervision, and requires no special collection facilities.
The impact of alcohol abuse within the workplace is far-reaching and should be considered by every employer, since it has been linked with increases in employee tardiness, absenteeism, sickness, workplace injuries, reduced productivity and lower employee morale. Alcohol testing is an effective screening strategy for identifying alcohol abuse in the workplace and mitigating its many negative effects.
It is possible to test for recent alcohol consumption by analysis of an individual’s breath, blood or oral fluid.
Rapid results are available within minutes. But usually lab-based drug screening from start to finish(collection to result receipt) typically takes 24 – 48 hours.
First Advantage offers hundreds of different panel configurations and cut off levels which can be customized to your needs.
Yes, First Advantage will coordinate onsite testing for hiring or random events from start to finish.
First Advantage employs a specialized team of Medical Review Officers (MROs) with a vast degree of industry knowledge who have been certified by the American Association of Medical Review Officers and/or the Medical Review Officer Certification Council to review chain of custody and test results, and conduct the entire donor interview process as prescribed by federal regulations. Specifically, an MRO is a licensed medical doctor (MD) or doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) with specialized knowledge in the medical use of prescription drugs and the pharmacology and toxicology of illicit drugs. MROs have expertise in the areas of controlled substance use, abuse, testing and rehabilitation.
The First Advantage MRO team review chain of custody and test results and conducts the entire donor interview process as prescribed by federal regulations. Specifically, in the case of confirmed non-negative results, MROs conduct phone interviews with the donor and, if needed, the donor’s doctor and/or pharmacist. The goal is to determine if there is a legitimate medical explanation for the test result, such as a current, legal prescription for a drug being used to treat a medical condition. A Medical Review Officer (MRO) is a person who is a licensed physician and is responsible for receiving and reviewing laboratory results generated by an employer’s drug testing program and evaluating medical explanations for certain drug test results.
First Advantage offers a comprehensive collection site network. The First Advantage Collection Site Network provides you convenient and close locations for accurate data collection and transmission that adheres to our service level agreements. Whether you’re screening applicants, vendors, or employees, you want access to a reliable network of collection sites when you require a drug test or collection of other biometric information.
The chain of custody is a document that captures the collection, transfer, receipt, analysis, storage, and disposal of a sample for drug screening.
Yes. First Advantage international drug testing can help streamline your global hiring process by offering a convenient solution that allows you to combine market-leading global drug screening services with U.S.-based drug screening and other employment screening services. Instead of juggling paperwork, invoices and services for multiple vendors, you can confidently consolidate everything—U.S.-based and non-U.S. based drug testing— with First Advantage. Centralizing your program under one, trusted provider saves you valuable time, resources and money that could be redirected toward other recruiting activities that help you attract and keep the best talent.
Random testing is performed on an unannounced, unpredictable basis on employees whose identifying information such as Social Security number (SSN) or employee number have been placed in a testing pool from which a scientifically arbitrary selection is made. This selection is computer generated to ensure that it is indeed random and that each person in the workforce population has an equal chance of being selected for testing, regardless of whether that person was recently tested or not. Once an individual is selected for testing, the person is notified and must immediately report for a drug test. Since this type of testing has no advance notice, it serves as a deterrent.
As a powerful tool that helps employers spot workers with substance abuse problems, random testing is used as a long-term, post-hire deterrent for curbing on-the-job substance abuse. It is an integral part of a drug-free workplace that poses a much higher threat of detection than other testing methods such as pre-employment. In fact, random testing is mandated within regulated industries that fall under the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) guidelines.
For every active employee enrolled in a pool, he or she has an equal chance of being selected, each time there is a selection, throughout the calendar year. For any pool (DOT or NDOT), a person may be required to test at least quarterly and a maximum would be monthly.
The DOT’s random testing requirements specify that random selections must be spread evenly over a12-month period. Most non-regulated companies choose the same approach. This further supports the deterrence factor since it is impossible for a pool member to know when a random selection will be generated.
First Advantage runs random selection programs for thousands of companies and government organizations throughout the United States according to strict guidelines on a specially written computer program. The program randomly selects donors from a company’s employee selection pool(s) on computers physically located at First Advantage. Since there is also no way to add or delete a name to the list once started, you can be sure that your company’s random selection process is completely non-prejudiced, entirely equitable and completely free from any outside interference or influence.
The minimum number, or percentage, of ID numbers or names that are actually selected annually is also specified by the DOT. Non-regulated companies tend to use the DOT regulations as guidelines. Employees can consult their company policy or program administrator to find out what the percentage of random selection is for their company, although many companies treat this as confidential information. It may also be helpful to know that if a company with 100 employees decides to test at 50 percent ‘random rate’ it does not mean it will test 50% of its employees. Rather it will conduct 50 tests on whichever employees are chosen by the random selection computer program. It is not uncommon for the same donors to be selected several times in succession since all employees are available for each selection.
An employee who is subject to random testing will be part of a selection pool of other employees who are also subject to random testing. Each employee in the pool will have an equal chance of being chosen each time that a selection is generated. As an example of how this happens, consider this experiment; pick ten cards at random from a deck of 52. Then place those 10 cards back in the deck, reshuffle them and draw another 10 cards randomly. Is there a chance one or more of the same cards will be drawn the second time, the third time, etc.? The same chances apply to the random drug and alcohol selection.
