1. Why conduct background checks? Conducting background screening on employees have become a matter of necessity for employers. There are instances where applicants have been involved in criminal activity, yet do not to disclose it. Help ensure a safer workplace and avoid negligent hiring lawsuits by screening your applicants. Conducting a background check is a very small price to pay compared to the legal fees you may potentially pay later.
2. What searches are included in a background check? National Criminal Records Database, County Criminal Record Checks, MVR Records, Employment Verification, Education Verification, are basic searches ordered as a part of most background checks.
3. What does a Social Security Number Trace reveal? This is an essential search that comes from credit headers. The results of this search will reveal all of the counties your applicant has reported using their Social Security Number, as well as dates reported and any other names your applicant may have used. This search is recommended because your applicant could have inadvertently failed to disclose information when they completed the disclosure and authorization for background investigation form.
4. How long does it take to get reports from pre-employment background check companies? Results will be returned instanly or within hours if there are no records. In some jurisdictions with records results within 24 – 72 business hours. There are cases in which a county search may have delayed results. We will keep you updated.
5. Does your company provide services globally? Yes. Legal Locator Service is a globally provider of employment background screening services, as well as internationally.
6. Does my applicant need to complete a signed release? Yes. Each applicant needs to complete and sign a release in order to be in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
7. May I just use my own release form? No. Legal Locator Service is providing you with the confidential information about your applicant, and we must be listed on the release form. Your applicant is entitled to know who is providing you with the information. This is also required in case of any adverse action.
8. How do you ensure confidential information is secure? Our organization ensures the privacy and protection of our clients’ data through system security measures in the areas of information technology. This information is hosted on our own secure servers. We back-up all of our data on a daily basis and have all the necessary firewalls in place. Our reporting system is available only to our clients (authorized users), and all transmitted information is encrypted.
9. How far back does an employment background check go? Typically, employers requesting an employment background screening on an applicant will request a seven-year history, although some states allow reporting information of up to 10 years. If in the state of California, a potential applicant would be offered a salary of at least $125,000.00, the CRA can go back as far as 10 years. If this is not the case, the maximum allowed reportable period the state of California is seven years. Aside from California, there are 11 additional states that limit the reporting of a conviction to seven years from the date of disposition, end of parole, or release from prison. The states listed and income exceptions are as follows: Colorado – $75,000.00 (income exception), Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York – $25,000.00 (income exception), Texas – $75,000.00 (income exception), and Washington – $20,000.00 (income exception).
10. What are my obligations as an employer under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)? The applicant must complete and sign a release form provided to you by your background screening company. The release must be submitted to the background screening company, prior to conducting any type of background investigation, where an employment decision will be made. Provide your applicant with “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act,” and if in California, the California statement of consumer rights. These forms are hand-outs, advising your applicants of their rights when a consumer report is being requested about them. It is your obligation as an employer to maintain this information in your records for a minimum of five years.
11. If I decide to not hire someone based on the results of the background report, may I just “tell” them I am not going to hire them because of the results of the background check? No. You are legally obligated to go through the following steps to disqualify someone employment due to the results of the background check: Provide your applicant with a pre-adverse action letter, a copy of the entire background report, a Summary of your Rights Under the FCRA form, and if in California, The California Statement of Consumer Rights form. Your applicant has 3-5 business days to resolve and/or dispute any negative information contained in their report. The pre-adverse action letter must include the name of the CRA, address and phone number so your applicant can contact the CRA, if they wish to do so, in order to find out the details regarding the negative information they wish to dispute. Should the period of 3-5 business days pass and your applicant has not demonstrated they are in the process of disputing the information contained in their report, you must then provide your applicant with an adverse-action letter, a copy of the entire background report, “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act,” and if in California, the California statement of consumer rights. The adverse action letter communicates to your applicant they are no longer being considered for employment and their decision was influenced by in the Consumer and/or Investigative Report, made at the employers request and provided by the name, address, and phone number of the CRA.
12. Does your price include a 9-panel drug test? We can add most panels. The most requested panels are the 5 and 10-panel urine drug screen.
13. Are you a member of PBSA? Yes, we have an Advanced FCRA Certification and additionally, all of our employees are FCRA Certified by the NPBSA.
14. Do you cap your county criminal searches, if the volume of individual counties ever goes over a certain amount per candidate on an order? No, we do not cap our county criminal searches. We include all counties resided in within the last 7 years, any alias is an additional fee for all counties.
15. How many calls/attempts do you make per verification (Employment, Education, References) before closing out the verification? We make two attempts each day to get verification, the length (typically 3 business days) of time is completely up to the client.
16. Do you charge extra for additional attempts? If you would like us to contact more than twice a day, there is a fee of $5.00 per additional attempt.
17. Do we have a dedicated customer service team and point of contact? Yes, you will be assigned an account representative to handle all customer service related questions. We are located in the USA and speak English.
18. What times are our customer service teams available? 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Pacific Time. Our background1check system is available 24/7.
19. Do you have offices in all time zones? No, our physical location is in the Pacific Northwest. We do have a live person answering our phones after hours.
20. Are you currently in any litigation or have ever been in class action litigation? If so, can you describe the general cases and when they occurred? No to both questions, we have been in business for over 24 years.
21. Do you provide integrations with ATS/HRIS Systems? Yes, we have many integrations available. Please call us for a full list.
22. How much would you charge if we move to a new ATS in the future (e.g., SAP/SuccessFactors)? Please follow call us. (There may or may not be a charge depending on the ATS system).
23. Do you provide 3rd party and state/county fees at their raw rates (with no additional charges other than what the states, counties and 3rd parties charge)? All (data fees, court, state DMV, & 3rd party verification) access fees are a pass-through fee and we do not mark up these fees.
24. What do you charge, if anything, for candidate contact if we select an adverse action based on results of your report? There is no additional cost for us to set up the pre-adverse/adverse action letters. The adverse letters are sent with the click of your mouse.
25. Do you review and audit all national criminal database potential hit information at the local counties (for false positive information)? Yes, any flags on our database searches must be researched in the county of record. We vet and verify all records.
26. Do you charge for the review of potential hits at the local county levels? No, there is no additional charge.
27. How fast will you add on additional services and packages when new services and packages are requested on the account? Adding additional searches/custom packages to the client account is done within minutes after approval from the client. Additional fees may apply.
28. Do you send court runners into all of the county courthouses globally, as a primary step of each package containing county criminal courts, when those courts are not on real-time data? Yes, we do provide “hand searches” by licensed court researchers in counties that do not offer real-time public access.
29. Do you have your Soc2 Certification? Yes, we use industry-leading technology to secure operating environment, including client authentication (password-controlled access), data encryption, public-private key pair, firewalls, intrusion detection, filtering routers, and data backups. Each component acts as a layer of protection to safeguard information from unauthorized users, deliberate malfeasance, and inadvertent loss. We maintain PCI-DSS and E13PA compliance certifications and have continuous monitoring for system security and compliance.
30. Have you ever been breached and what security measures do you have in place? We have never had a breach. We have a security policy in place.
31. Now that Marijuana is legal, how can employers use positive drug tests? The federal government still considers marijuana a Schedule I narcotic (illicit drug), therefore you can use positive marijuana drug results in making a hiring decision. The federal government enforces a 100% drug-free workplace policy.
Call Legal Locator Service at 866 225-2435 or 503 697-5821 for background screening. Visit, legallocatorservice.com