FAQs

Understanding Criminal Records

Criminal background checks are usually conducted by third-party screening companies or directly by employers. They involve searching various databases, including county, state, and federal records, as well as databases maintained by law enforcement agencies.

Yes, in Connecticut, certain criminal records are considered public information. However, access to these records may be subject to restrictions based on the nature of the offense, the age of the offender, or other legal considerations. Some records may also be sealed or expunged under certain circumstances.

Tenant Screening

Conducting a tenant background search helps landlords make informed decisions about potential renters. It allows them to identify any red flags, such as past evictions or criminal records, that may indicate a higher risk of non-payment or property damage.

A tenant credit report typically includes details about the individual’s credit accounts, such as credit card accounts, loans, and mortgages. It also includes information about any late payments, accounts in collections, bankruptcies, or other negative marks on their credit history.

Tenant

Tenant screening services are tools used by landlords and property managers to evaluate prospective tenants’ rental history, creditworthiness, and criminal background. They’re crucial for landlords to make informed decisions about who they allow to rent their property, helping to minimize the risk of late payments, property damage, or other issues.

A tenant background check may include various pieces of information, such as credit history, criminal records, eviction history, employment verification, rental history, and references from previous landlords.

Staffing

The best background checkers typically provide a range of information, including criminal records, employment history, education verification, credit history, and address history. Some services may also offer social media and online presence checks.

Pre-employment Screening

Pre-employment screening commonly involves checks such as criminal background checks, employment verification, education verification, reference checks, drug testing, and sometimes credit history checks, depending on the nature of the job.

The duration of a pre-employment screening can vary depending on factors such as the complexity of the checks required, the responsiveness of previous employers or institutions for verification, and the availability of the candidate for necessary testing (such as drug testing). Generally, it can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to complete the process.

How to run background checks

Background checks are typically conducted by searching various databases and public records for information about an individual’s criminal history, employment history, credit history, and more. This process may involve accessing court records, credit reports, driving records, and other sources of information.

Background checks help employers make informed hiring decisions by verifying the accuracy of a candidate’s credentials, ensuring workplace safety, and minimizing the risk of negligent hiring lawsuits.

Hospitality

Using a candidate checker can streamline the hiring process by automating the initial screening of applicants, saving time and resources for recruiters. It helps ensure that only qualified candidates move forward in the hiring process, improving the overall quality of hires and reducing the risk of bias in candidate selection.

Personal background checks are legal as long as they comply with federal and state regulations, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). It’s important to ensure that proper consent is obtained before conducting a background check, especially for employment or tenant screening purposes.

Employers conduct drug testing on employees for several reasons, including maintaining a safe work environment, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries, improving productivity, and complying with industry regulations or legal requirements. Drug testing also helps employers identify and address substance abuse issues among employees.

General

An employment background check is a process where an employer investigates a candidate’s past to verify information provided on their resume or during the hiring process. This typically includes checking employment history, education credentials, criminal records, and sometimes credit history.

Pre-employment background checks commonly include verification of identity, employment history, education credentials, criminal record, and occasionally credit history. The specific details checked may vary depending on the employer and the nature of the job.

To get started, simply complete the “START YOUR FREE ACCOUNT” form on the right side of this page. One of our dedicated background screening professionals will call you, introduce themselves and help you get started. It’s that simple!

We can have you running your own background checks in 1-2 business days.

Security is a top priority and played a very important part in the design and development of our online background screening system. We pay close attention to high publicity threats such as viruses, denial of service attacks and other malicious activities over the Internet as well as to maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive application data such as credit reports, social security numbers and other personal identifying information.

Our programming/IT team uses the best, leading technology to secure our website and the environment in which it operates. This includes client authentication (Password controlled access), encryption of data, public-private key pair, firewalls, intrusion detection, filtering routers and data backups. Each of these components acts as a layer of protection to safeguard information from unauthorized users, deliberate wrongdoing and inadvertent loss.

There are NO minimum order requirements or contracts. Cancel anytime!

Between our automated system and the humans in our compliance team our results come back with some of the best turnaround times in the industry.

No

At the beginning of each month, we email out invoices for the screening ran the prior month. There are payment options on the invoice. We accept most forms of payment. (Direct ACH, Company Check, AMEX, MC, VISA).

Financial

Employers conduct these checks to ensure that the information provided by candidates on their resumes or job applications is accurate and truthful. It helps them assess a candidate’s suitability for the role and mitigate risks associated with hiring.

To prepare for a financial background check, review your credit reports for accuracy, address any discrepancies, and work on improving your credit score if needed. Be transparent about any past financial challenges during interviews and provide context to mitigate any concerns raised by the results of the background check.

Employers

To start a background check, you will only need your candidate’s full legal name, email address and state the job is in.

Your candidate will receive a link to a secure site where they can provide the rest of the information we need: Social Security number, date of birth, and current home address. Our electronic consent process, with built-in e-sign, keeps the entire process quick, easy, and accurate.

Of course, you can collect the candidate information yourself, if you prefer.

The Screening Source is considered a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) and therefore is mandated by the FCRA to comply with all FCRA guidelines, rules and regulations.

No, you have other options – you can submit the names to us via CSV spreadsheet file format. We will create a Batch Order for you. There is no additional charge for this service. Please contact us for more information.

Results are available on our secure, encrypted website, which you can access 24/7. There is no software to buy; it’s a free website offered exclusively to our clients. In addition, we can fully integrate your system with ours to eliminate any duplicate data entry.

We work with our clients to help determine the level of security they are seeking for a particular position. While you might want to check an applicant’s driving history, if that employee is not going to be driving for employment-related purposes, then it’s a waste of your resources.

The social security address trace report may NOT be used as the basis for adverse action. It is used to verify or correct information or as a tool for additional research. The social security address trace report does not signify someone’s eligibility to work in the US nor their immigration status.

Cyber

Organizations typically engage third-party vendors specializing in background screening services to conduct cyber security background checks. These vendors utilize various methods, including database searches, reference checks, interviews, and technical evaluations, to gather information about candidates’ cyber security backgrounds.

Cyber security background checks are crucial for protecting organizations from insider threats and ensuring the integrity of their systems. By vetting employees or candidates thoroughly, businesses can mitigate the risk of data breaches, sabotage, or unauthorized access to critical infrastructure.

Criminal History

A criminal history background check may include information about convictions, arrests, pending criminal cases, and in some cases, non-convictions such as dismissed charges or acquittals. The specifics vary depending on the jurisdiction and the depth of the background check being conducted.

When conducting employee screening, employers must adhere to various laws and regulations, such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines, and state-specific regulations. These laws govern aspects like consent for background checks, the use of credit reports, and anti-discrimination practices.

Construction

Licensing and certification requirements vary depending on the specific job and location. Some states or municipalities may require construction workers to obtain certain licenses or certifications, especially if they’re working with specialized equipment or in trades like plumbing or electrical work. It’s essential to research local regulations to ensure compliance.

What information is typically included in a construction employment background check?

Candidate

Different names may show up on an SSN report which means the applicant may have gotten married or just changed their name entirely. The most common reason for an unrelated name on the SSN Trace is due to data entry errors when entering SSN on any applications or documents. This does not mean that someone else is using the applicant’s SSN. A SSN report may show “NO RECORDS FOUND” which could mean the number was entered incorrectly, or the applicant has very little or no address history or the individual may have recently been issued their social security number.