 |
 Employment
Screening
|
| Q: How Can Employers Avoid Negligent Hiring
Liability? |
| A: Employers can protect themselves from negligent
hiring liability by thoroughly checking references and verifying all
pertinent information about each job applicant before making a job
offer. A criminal records search should be conducted for each place
of residence a candidate has lived at for at least the last seven
years. Employers should perform a minimum of three business or professional
references, with whom the applicant has actually worked with on a
daily basis within the last seven years. In addition, employers should
also confirm all degrees and licenses claimed by the applicant. By
taking these simple steps, every employer should be able to clearly
demonstrate that reasonable care was used in the hiring process. Avoiding
negligent hiring liability requires advance planning and the employer's
ability to show that they did not neglect their responsibility to
properly screen employees. |
| Q: How Much Does a Background Check Typically
Cost? |
| A: A thorough, comprehensive background check performed
by Info Cubic usually costs less than a new employee's first day of
work. This upfront cost is far less than the cost of hiring a bad
employee. The U.S. Department of Labor figures that the average cost
of a bad hire is 30 percent of the new employee's first year earnings.
Companies who do not utilize an effective employment-screening program
to help make informed hiring decisions are more likely to hire "bad"
employees, which can ultimately cost the company thousands of dollars.
|
| Q: Why should I screen my employees with
an employee background check? |
|
A: 67% of criminals released from prison in 1994 were re-arrested
for at least one serious crime within the next three years (Bureau
of Justice Statistics, 6/2/02)
The National Crime Victimization Survey, released by the U.S. Department
of Justice in December of 2001, analyzed workplace violence from
1993 to 1999. On average, 1.7 million violent incidents per year
were committed against employees at work.
Nearly 60% of sex offenders are under conditional supervision (probation
or parole) in the United States. (Bureau of Justice Statistics)
30% of business failures are due to poor hiring practices. - Department
of Commerce
According to a recent study, 67% of job applicants and resumes
in the U.S. contain misrepresentations. - American Psychological
Association
The average organization loses more than $9 per day, per employee
and 6% of its annual revenue to fraud and abuse. - Association of
Certified Fraud Examiners
On-the-job violence costs employers $36 billion each year. - Workplace
Violence Research Institute
The average award in a workplace violence lawsuit exceeds $1 million
per case. - Workplace Violence Research Institute
Drug users cost 300% more in medical costs and benefits. - Crain's
Cleveland Business
According to a national survey, American retail employees stole
$10.4 billion in a one-year period. - University of Florida
70% of illegal drug users have full-time jobs. - New York Times
38%-58% of on-the-job injuries can be attributed to alcohol/drug
abuse. - Business Insurance
|
| Q: Do I need to fax you the release my
applicant signed? |
| A: Generally speaking no. There are a select few
searches where we require a signed release form in order to complete
your request. However, in accordance with the Fair Credit Reporting
Act you must have your applicant's express written permission to access
any of their background check information when making a hiring decision.
You must keep this signed release form on file for at least 3 years
if you do not hire the individual. If you do hire the individual,
you should keep their signed release form in their personnel file
for as long as they remain employed with your organization. From time
to time, we may request copies of the documents for audit purposes. |
| Q: How long until my account is active?
|
| A:Once we receive your signed Client Service Agreement
we will activate your account within 3 business hours. Info Cubic
reserves the right to deny your account application whenever it is
in our best interest. |
| Q: How do I decide whether to run a county
or statewide criminal search? |
A: Both of these searches involve criminal records
containing similar misdemeanor and felony conviction information.
While both products generally yield the same case information on a
subject, your chances of finding criminal record information will
be greater if you follow these simple guidelines:
If you are relatively certain your subject was tried for a criminal
offense in a particular county, choose that county for a criminal
records search. This is where the actual court records are filed and
are hand-checked by our qualified court records researcher.
If you are relatively confident your subject was tried for a criminal
offense in a particular state, but are unsure of in which county,
or if the subject has moved around the state several times, try a
statewide criminal search. This search has a much wider geographical
focus and will cover every county courthouse in the state. A statewide
criminal search is more cost-effective than ordering several county
criminal searches.
If you are fairly certain that your subject was convicted of a violation
quite recently, then you should order a county criminal search. The
biggest difference between statewide and county criminal records has
to do with how quickly criminal records are made available. When a
person is convicted of a criminal offense the trial takes place at
the county level. When a person has been convicted, this court record
information is generally filed and made available at the county courthouse
shortly after the conviction. However, the county courthouse may not
report this criminal record information to the statewide criminal
repository for several days or weeks. Each state has different requirements
regarding how quickly counties need to report court record information.
Please note: not all states require their county courts to report
to their statewide criminal repository. Therefore, statewide criminal
record information may not be available in states such as AK, CA,
DE, NV, NY, SD and WV. |
| Q: I am looking for criminal records for
someone who has committed a crime in one county but is incarcerated
in another county. Which county should I search? |
| A: You should search in the county where the crime
was committed, NOT the county where they may be incarcerated. The
county where the crime was committed will handle the criminal case
and will therefore have the criminal record information. If you are
unsure of which county the crime took place in, a statewide criminal
search may be a good option to find the criminal record. |
| Q: I know that someone has been arrested
in the past. Will this report show that? |
| A: Arrest records will not be provided. The only criminal
record information provided will be related to criminal convictions.
If a person was arrested and then released without being convicted,
this information will not be reflected in our reports. Depending on
the county courthouse, arrest records may occasionally be returned
if the case is still ongoing or awaiting trial. Since a person is
innocent until proven guilty, arrest records should never be used
to make a hiring decision. Only criminal convictions should be used
in making decisions. |
| Q:Do you use database searches for your
criminal record searches? |
| A: We do offer instant criminal database searches.
However, our county and state criminal record searches are all conducted
by hand-searching criminal records directly at the courthouse. By
hand-searching records directly at the courthouse, our experienced
researchers can ensure that we are providing the most accurate and
up-to-date information possible. |
| Q:Does your criminal records search include
misdemeanors and felonies? |
| A: Yes. Statewide and County criminal records will
include both misdemeanor and felony conviction information. |
| Q:How far back does your criminal record
searches go? Can I use records beyond 7 years to make hiring decisions? |
| A:All criminal record searches will go back at least
7 years. Info Cubic will provide criminal record information going
as far back as the courthouse allows. Each courthouse varies how long
they maintain criminal records on file.
The Federal FCRA guidelines allow you to make hiring decisions
on criminal conviction information going beyond 7 years. However,
State FCRA laws in CA, KS, MD, MA, MT, NH, NM, and NV restrict employers
to only using the last 7 years of criminal record information for
making hiring decisions.
The following States allow a look-back further than 7 years if
the subject earns or is expected to earn a particular threshold
amount:
CO: $75K income exception
NY: $25K income exception
TX: $75K income exception
WA: $20K Income exception
|
| Q:How will I order search requests? |
| A: Search requests can be ordered via our website,
phone or fax. We recommend ordering searches online since it is the
easiest and most efficient way to order background checks. Our online
system is powerful, secure and extremely easy to use. |
| Q:How will my searches be returned? |
| A: Competed reports can be returned via email, fax
or mail. You have the option of having completed results sent to multiple
people. In addition, if you order several searches for the same individual,
you have the choice between having only the completed report returned
or having each individual search returned as they are completed. |
| Q:Can your system automatically send my
applicant a copy of their background check? |
| A: Yes. If you input your applicant's email address
into the system when you are ordering their background check, it will
automatically email the applicant their completed report. |
| Q:How long will completed reports be stored
in your system? |
| A: All of your completed reports will be stored indefinitely.
With our system you will never have to worry about losing an employee's
completed background check again. |
| Q:I forgot to order a search for an applicant
whose report has been completed, do I have to enter their information
again? |
| A: No. Our system allows you to add additional searches
to a completed profile at any time without having to reenter all of
their personal information. For example, some companies perform an
annual background check on all of their employees. With our system
they can pull up each employee's profile and order a new search without
having to reenter all of his or her information. This feature saves
clients a lot of time and energy. |
| Q:What are my payment options? |
| A: Your account can be setup to pay by credit card
each time you order a search, or we offer a monthly or bi-monthly
invoicing option. With our online payment option, you will always
be able to view your invoice and pay it online at any time. |
| Q: The search I requested provided no results,
will I still be charged for the search? |
|
A: Yes. Whenever a search is ordered you will be charged for the
service requested. Whether a record is found or not, costs have
been incurred in order to complete the search request.
|
| Q: What is the Fair Credit Reporting Act
(FCRA)? |
|
A: The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is enforced by the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC), provides the guidelines employers need to
follow when performing employment screening. The FCRA requirements
apply whenever an employer requests a "consumer report"
or "investigative consumer report" from a consumer-reporting
agency such as Info Cubic. A "consumer report" includes
any written, oral, or other communication of any information by
a consumer reporting agency regarding a consumer's credit worthiness,
credit standing, credit capacity, character, general reputation,
personal characteristics, or mode of living which is used as a factor
to establish the consumer's eligibility for employment. The FCRA
requires that employers must comply with certain reporting requirements
when using a consumer-reporting agency to screen employees or applicants.
To obtain a consumer report from a consumer reporting agency, the
employer must first provide certification to the consumer reporting
agency that the employer:
- Is requesting the report for employment purposes (which includes
evaluating an applicant or employee for employment, promotion,
reassignment, or retention as an employee).
- Has provided the required disclosure to the applicant or employee.
- Has obtained the necessary written authorization to request
the report.
- Will provide the applicant or employee with a copy of the report
and a written description of the applicant or employee's rights
before taking any adverse action based in whole or in part on
the report.
- Will not use the information from the report in a manner that
violates federal or state equal opportunity laws.
The FCRA requires any employer intending to obtain a consumer report
to first make a clear and conspicuous written disclosure to the
applicant or employee that a consumer report may be obtained for
employment purposes. The disclosure cannot be included in an employment
application or other document that contains additional information.
The employer must also obtain the employee's or applicant's written
authorization before obtaining the report.
|
| Q: Is Info Cubic FCRA-compliant? |
|
A: Yes. Info Cubic is fully FCRA-compliant. As a consumer-reporting
agency, Info Cubic abides by all Federal and State regulations set
forth by the FCRA. In addition, Info Cubic's FCRA experts will help
to ensure that your organization always remains fully FCRA-compliant.
We provide all necessary forms to keep your company fully compliant
with the FCRA. Furthermore, whenever there are any changes to the
FCRA, Info Cubic keeps our clients abreast of these changes via
a newsletter. This way our clients can screen their employees with
the utmost confidence.
|
| Tenant
screening |
| Q: Who can use the service? |
| A: In general, the information is provided to rental
property owners/management that intend to use the information for
a permissible purpose. Info Cubic is regulated by the Fair Credit
Reporting Act (FCRA). |
| Q: Will I have to sign a contract? |
| A: The only contract you must agree to concerns the
use of the information we provide. There is no usage contract and
you may close your account at any time without a penalty. Click on
the "Sign Up Now" button to view all terms and conditions.
|
| Q: How will I be charged? |
| A: Info Cubic is a transaction-based service.
Customers have the option of paying monthly by credit card or receiving
an invoice. |
