CUSTOMER RESOURCES
Real Estate
The Guide to Real Estate Background Checks
The real estate industry is one that virtually every person will interact with at some point in their lifetime. Whether renting an apartment, shopping for a house with the help of a real estate agent or purchasing property, you will find yourself exploring the unique world of real estate and the professionals who make that industry run.
For many reasons, ranging from the high-value nature of most real estate to the ethical missteps that led to the Great Recession, this industry tends to be bound by the concept of trust but verify. Said another way, you can put your trust in a real estate agent, a tenant, or a buyer, but finding ways to verify that trust can save you from costly mistakes. No strategy is more central to the trust-but-verify philosophy of the real estate world than conducting real estate background checks.
What exactly are real estate background checks, you may ask? In truth, there is no one concise answer to that question. Instead, real estate background checks can vary in shape and form depending on the application at hand.
For instance, the term “real estate background checks” is often used to describe the vetting protocols employers or prospective clients use to ensure that real estate agents and other professionals working in the real estate industry are safe and trustworthy. Real estate agents have unique responsibilities that allow them to enter customers’ homes, drive their clients from one showing to another, and share one-on-one meetings in empty houses. Agents often have keys or access codes to the homes of clients or sellers. A great deal of trust is needed to give a person you don’t know any of these privileges. The companies that employ real estate professionals and the clients who work with them need to know these professionals won’t abuse their position. As a result, real estate background checks tend to be highly in-depth for real estate professionals.
However, not all real estate background screenings are directed at realtors or other industry professionals. On the contrary, another equally common real estate background check is aimed at tenants or renters. Landlords who own property but rent it out to specific tenants want to ensure they place their real estate assets in good hands. As such, tenant background checks are an everyday part of many leases or rental agreements.
At backgroundchecks.com, we pride ourselves on offering a dynamic range of background check services that clients can use to build sound vetting processes for their businesses. We work with numerous clients that do business in the real estate industry and can provide background check solutions that are effective for vetting agents, employees, investors, buyers, renters, tenants, and anyone else who might need to be screened for real estate purposes.
What is a Real Estate Background Check?
Whether it’s a background check of a real estate professional or a screening aimed at determining the trustworthiness of a prospective tenant, a real estate background check will typically consider various factors, including criminal history, sex offender registry listings, aliases, address histories, and more. (To learn why landlords run these types of checks on their tenants, read our blog, Top 5 Reasons to Perform Tenant Screening.) Read on to learn more about the different background screenings that make up the typical real estate background check.
Criminal background checks
Why do landlords run criminal background checks on prospective tenants, and should they? These questions are frequently bandied about in conversations about housing access and criminal justice reform. One argument is that criminal background checks for tenants create substantial housing challenges for the formerly incarcerated. Advocates for criminal justice reform ask questions like, “How are ex-offenders supposed to rejoin and make positive contributions to society if they are denied housing based on past mistakes and misdeeds?” Denying a leasing application based on a criminal conviction, these advocates argue, only makes it more difficult for past offenders to rebuild their lives, in turn exacerbating problems with homelessness, recidivism, and mass incarceration.
Simultaneously, there are reasons why a landlord would wish to know about a prospective tenant’s past criminal activity. For instance, someone previously convicted of murder, assault, or rape, may pose a risk to the landlord, other tenants, or neighbors. Alternatively, a person whose record shows convictions for manufacturing meth may pose risks to the physical property.
Ultimately, landlords should use their best judgment when using criminal history checks for housing decisions. Crimes of violence, sexual assault or property damage may indicate bigger risks or liabilities than the landlord is willing to accept. Other less severe offenses, meanwhile, may be less expressly relevant to housing decisions.
Criminal background checks also hold considerable value for prospective real estate professionals. Real estate agents spend a good deal of one-on-one time with buyers, have access to sellers’ homes, and will often be a go-between for paperwork containing sensitive personal or financial information. For all these reasons, it’s vital for real estate agencies to make sure they hire trustworthy, safe people, and criminal background checks can be a significant part of that process.
At backgroundchecks.com, we offer criminal background checks at the county, state, and federal levels, as well as a multi-jurisdictional search that spans 650 million records from across the nation.
Sex offender registry searches
Sex offender registry checks are another vital consideration for landlords. While most sex offenses will show up on a criminal background check, many of those crimes only require perpetrators to register as sex offenders for a specified number of years.
Meanwhile, a person on a sex offender list should stand out as a bigger liability to a landlord than someone who committed a sex crime 40 years ago and is no longer required to register as a sex offender. Specifically, there are laws around how close to schools sex offenders may live, and registered sex offenders are broadly considered to be at a higher risk than many convicted criminals. For all these reasons and more, landlords will often use sex offender registry checks to inform their leasing decisions.
Employers in most sectors will incorporate sex offender registry checks into their background screening policies. Real estate firms are no exception to this rule. Running sex offender registry checks can help ensure the safety of buyers, sellers or other agents who will need to interact with the real estate professionals you choose to hire.
Alias and address history checks
Alias and address history checks are valuable for their ability to add extra information and contexts around criminal background checks. Criminal history searches are often conducted on a name-based search model. This model means that a person can sometimes avoid detection in a criminal background check by lying about their name.
Similarly, background checks are often geographically-based since most criminal records are filed at the county level. A landlord who only runs criminal history searches in one county or state can risk overlooking convictions that a prospective tenant has from a different geographic area.
At backgroundchecks.com, we can incorporate aliases and address history checks into our criminal background checks. While a person can adopt an alias or relocate to a new area, their real name will still be linked to their Social Security Number, as will their address history. We can provide this information to our customers and use it to expand background checks to include other names, counties, or states.
The value of alias and address history checks is the same for real estate professionals and tenants. Just as landlords can expand the reach of their background checks with this extra information, so too can employers get a better sense of their potential hires.
License/certification verifications
While the checks we’ve covered have value for both sides of the real estate world – tenants and real estate professionals – the license verification part of the process is only necessary for real estate agents. Prospective tenants don’t need any specific license or certification to be eligible for most housing. However, real estate professionals must be licensed to work in the profession.
Different states have different rules and processes for real estate agent licensing. In most cases, agents will have to complete an educational process and pass an examination to prove they are knowledgeable enough about the job to be qualified. Real estate employers should take care to verify the credentials of each agent they hire to avoid problems with competency or any liability that may result from unqualified, unprofessional performance.
Employment verifications
Regarding verifying employment, landlords are primarily concerned with current employment. The typical landlord wants to know that a tenant is stably employed before granting them a lease, as stable employment helps minimize the chances of late or missed payments. Some landlords conduct a formal background check to verify employment, while others merely ask for a recent pay stub or other proof of income.
Meanwhile, real estate agencies may verify employment history to check a candidate’s past jobs in the real estate field. Hiring an experienced and successful real estate agent is a boon for any agency. Verifying employment and sales volumes at past agencies and other on-the-job statistics can be essential to the vetting process.
Reference checks
Reference checks can be a part of both real estate background checks. When vetting tenants, landlords may want to hear about their experience with a tenant from previous landlords. Speaking with a previous landlord about payment reliability, property care, noise, manners, and other key tidbits can be the difference between leasing a house or apartment to a problem tenant and avoiding that situation entirely.
For real estate agencies, meanwhile, reference checks can help to hire managers to learn more about a prospective hire’s character, work ethic, demeanor with clients, and more. This information can be as important to a people-centric industry like real estate as any educational credentials or work history details.
Driving history checks
Some real estate agencies may conduct driving history checks on their agents simply because real estate agents drive their clients to showings. Ensuring an agent has a driver’s license in good standing and doesn’t have a history of reckless driving, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or other dangerous behavior is an important way to keep clients safe in these situations.
Driving history checks are irrelevant to tenant background checks and should not be included in that process.
Best Practices for Tenant Screening
Are you a new landlord putting together an effective tenant background screening policy or a long-time landlord revising your tenant background checks? In either case, consider the four tips below as your best practices for smart tenant screening.
Familiarize yourself with all laws and regulations
The most critical thing to remember with tenant background checks is that you don’t have free reign. There is considerable debate about the ethics of tenant screening, including whether landlords should even be allowed to consider the criminal history and other background information during the tenant application process. In jurisdictions such as Seattle and Detroit, ordinances now restrict which background checks landlords can run on prospective tenants.
As a landlord, you need to familiarize yourself with all relevant legislation. Every landlord or potential landlord should be aware of the tenant background checks controversy and how the debate around tenant background checks is shifting the legal landscape around them. For instance, while tenant background screening may be legal in your area now, that doesn’t mean it always will be. If you need to find and vet a new tenant in six months or a year, you should plan to review the latest legislative happenings again. Because of this fair housing debate, it’s possible that what was once allowed in your state or jurisdiction is now banned or restricted.
While the biggest factors here are restrictions and outright bans on tenant background check strategies, also remember that landlords must abide by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) when vetting potential tenants. The FCRA is a federal law dating back to 1970, which outlines the protocols you must follow when conducting any tenant background screening.
Plan a compliant and relevant background check
Once you know what you’re legally permitted to do with your tenant background checks, you can begin the next step: crafting a tenant screening policy that is detailed, relevant, and fully compliant. If you’re wondering what to include in a tenant background check, the question of relevance is typically the biggest determining factor. Regarding relevance, you want to focus on categories such as criminal history, credit history, employment, identity and address history, and rental history. Other background checks, including driving and education background checks, are irrelevant to housing situations, and landlords would be wise to skip them.
It is also wise to take proactive steps toward eliminating bias in tenant background checks. One of the biggest criticisms of tenant vetting policies – and one of the top reasons that landlords in some parts of the country have been restricted in running background checks on tenants – is the worry of bias and discrimination. Sometimes, background checks and other screening policies (such as rental applications) can be designed to introduce or reinforce housing biases. Policies that create intentional or unintentional biases against any group – whether families with young kids or People of Color – can lead to costly lawsuits.
Look beyond the credit report
For many tenant background screenings, landlords emphasize the financial situations of would-be renters. Simply put, the top consideration for the average landlord is ensuring they are getting a tenant who can make full and timely payments every month. As a result, while they typically include criminal history searches of some variety, tenant background checks will often focus just as much on factors that might indicate a tenant’s ability to pay.
Specifically, landlords want to know if their tenants are employed, where they are employed, their income, whether a former landlord has evicted them, and if they’ve generally made payments on time throughout their credit history. At backgroundchecks.com, we offer screening services to verify employment and check a tenant’s credit history.
While employment, income, and credit history can undoubtedly speak to a tenant’s likelihood to make rent payments consistently and on time, landlords should avoid putting too much weight on the credit report.
Bad credit can result from many factors, from student loan debt to unexpected medical expenses. Sometimes, landlords are overeager to read any credit report that shows considerable debt or a few late credit card payments as a red flag. Just because a person doesn’t have perfect credit or a totally stable financial situation doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t financially responsible, and it shouldn’t mean they aren’t allowed fair housing opportunities.
Too often, dire financial straits result from unforeseen circumstances, some of which happen to people through no fault of their own. Take, for instance, the Covid-19 pandemic, during which many people lost their jobs and found themselves in difficult financial situations. No one could have predicted those events, and avoiding them was equally impossible. Such is the case for many people, for many diverse reasons, and landlords should be sensitive to those struggles. The bottom line, landlords should try to avoid penalizing prospective tenants for past financial mistakes or unavoidable periods of economic struggle.
A better option might be speaking with past landlords and other references to understand a tenant’s character and reliability. These personality traits often contribute more to “good tenant” behavior than spotless credit.
Don’t overlook spouses and partners
When couples apply for housing together, one member often does most of the paperwork and interfacing with the landlord. In these situations, remember that you’re considering two tenants. Running a background check on only one of the prospective tenants leads to the risk of overlooking a red flag in the other person’s background. Vetting the two tenants identically will give you the information you need to make a smart leasing decision.
Background Screening FAQs
Read on for answers to many of the most frequently asked questions about vetting employees with help from background screening companies.
-
When screening new tenants, criminal history, sex offender status, credit history, income, and past evictions are the five things landlords will most typically want to know about when screening new tenants. However, note that landlords in some parts of the country may be restricted in their ability to run background checks in one or more of these categories. Understanding the laws and ordinances in your area is essential to ensure compliant tenant background checks.
-
A mix of criminal background checks, sex offender registry checks, reference checks, credit history checks, civil court checks, and employment verifications can give you all the information in the five categories mentioned above. Landlords use a cross-section of checks to get the clearest portrait possible of who a prospective renter is and how responsible they would be as a tenant.
-
The term “real estate background check” can refer to two things. In one context, a real estate background check is the screening landlords use to vet prospective tenants. In another, it can be the pre-employment background check that a real estate agency uses when hiring a real estate agent. These checks often focus on many overlapping aspects, including criminal history and employment background.
-
One question frequently discussed in the real estate world is whether tenant background checks will always be allowed. Some locales, such as Seattle, Washington and Oakland, California, have prohibited landlords from running criminal background checks on tenants. The idea is to reduce barriers to housing wherever possible to end rampant poverty, criminal recidivism, and other social problems. However, these bans place landlords in a challenging position by giving them less awareness and control over whom they let into their property. Currently, proposed tenant background check bans are far from the norm, but all landlords should pay attention to legislative trends in the coming years. Local, state and even federal governments could continue to restrict landlords’ use of background information in the future.
Additional Resources
Schools Move to Require Background Checks for Volunteers
In a move that follows many other schools, the Parsippany, NJ Board of Education has made the decision to consider performing background checks on volunteers who have the chance to work closely with children. New Jersey recently made it law to require all members of the Board of Education to undergo background checks and it seems as if the momentum is continuing down the line to include volunteers. The volunteers who would be covered under this requirement would be both those who work in the classroom as well as those who work in after school activities like sports coaches.
Though many are supportive of these changes, others have concerns like cost. The cost of these background checks would have to come out of the schools budget. Another consideration is parents not wanting to go through the hassle of getting a background check done. Some feel that it could deter parents from interacting with students in school which is needed for not only support of the school, but for building relationships.
Should the school decide to go through with this, companies like backgroundchecks.com are able to provide services for full background checks and can also offer products like US Offender OneSEARCH which can search offender databases all over the US.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Source: http://parsippany.patch.com/articles/boe-again-takes-on-issue-of-background-checks
Should Door-to-Door Salesmen Under Go Background Checks? Some Say Yes
The city of Huntsville, AL has a proposal on the table that would require door-to-door salesmen to undergo a background check and have to carry a city ID if they want to legally sell their wares. The goal of this move is to not only keep residents of Huntsville safe, but to also weed out anyone who may be selling illegally or selling unsafe products door-to-door.
It is important to note that these background checks would only be required for those who are commercial sales people and professional fundraisers. The background checks would not be required of school children, girl scouts, political candidates, and charitable or religious groups. The proposed legislation in the city would look at the criminal background of each door-to-door salesperson and make a determination based on their background if they will be given an ID card from the city of Huntsville. This ID card would need to be worn continuously and shown when the salesperson approached a home. There would also be a provision added which would make it illegal for them to approach a home with a “No Solicitation” sign. Violators could be subject to a fine of up to $500 and/or spend up to six months in jail.
Should this legislation pass, it seems that those who are ex-convicts or who are paroled would be unable to participate in this program. Even certain misdemeanor crimes would be considered disqualifying events.
The city of Huntsville says they simply want to keep their residents safe, and this is one way that they can go about it. Should a sales person who previously received a city ID card be convicted of a crime, they would immediately lose their ID card and be unable to keep selling in the city limits.
Companies like backgroundchecks.com can be useful to cities like Huntsville who may be considering a move such as this. Not only can backgroundchecks.com perform these checks, they can offer products like Ongoing Criminal Monitoring that would let the city know, immediately, if one of these sales people were indicted or convicted of a crime. This would help the city keep track of who is out on their streets and interacting with their residents.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Source: http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/01/huntsville_considering_backgro.html
Taxi Drivers to Go Through Background Checks to Ensure Public Safety
A bill has been introduced that will ensure taxi drivers in certain areas are subject to background checks before renewing their licenses. there is no law or policy that forces taxi drivers to get their backgrounds scrutinized but if lawmakers have their ways, this will soon change.
Not only will this change of policy protect the public, it will standardize the way cities across the nation hire their cab companies and drivers. The plan is for licensing authorities to make the final call when it comes to granting a license to be a cab driver based on the results of the background check. In many cities, people rely on taxi’s for transportation and when they know the have gone through criminal background checks, they will feel better about taking cabs. Protecting the public is one of the main reasons these checks are being done.
Cities that will bring this policy into their borders can choose to use a third party processor like backgroundchecks.com in order to get the checks done. backgroundchecks.com has products that would be perfect for checking the background of taxi drivers including instant criminal checks and motor vehicle record checks. The information from these types of companies can be to cities and companies who hire taxi drivers.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about ’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Fire Department May Require Background Checks for New Employees and Volunteers
Some cities in the nation are taking steps in order to fully protect citizens. For example, the city of Coatesville, PA is considering putting employees and volunteers from their fire department through full criminal background checks. In Coatesville, there are currently both full time and volunteer firefighters. The new policy, if passed, would only apply to new volunteers and employees, not those who are already serving. One of the main reason the city is considering this change is so full time employees and volunteers will be going through the same process when it comes to background checks.
Though the idea is certainly out there, the city is currently forming an exploratory committee as to decide what will be checked and how extensive these background checks would be. It is important when checking the backgrounds of all employees and volunteers that all of them go through the same process.
The city of Coatesville states that there was no single event that caused this idea to take hold, but there is a history of issues when it comes to the fire department and their lack of background checks. One example is the case of Robert Tracey, who was a volunteer fire fighter. He was serving as the assistant Fire Chief of the city when a series of arsons took place. Tracey was convicted of the arsons. After his arrest it was found that he had a history of arson as well as two counts of writing bad checks and two counts of theft. He had never been subject to a background check until he was arrested. The fire department has never said that this case is the cause of the move towards background checks, they only say they wish to move in a positive direction.
Companies like the Coatesville, PA fire department can continue to move in a positive direction when it comes to background checks by using the services of third party companies like backgroundchecks.com. The company backgroundchecks.com have a lot of different products, like Ongoing Criminal Monitoring which would be a great idea for the fire department since they are only planning on performing background checks on those who are new hires. This would allow the department to be notified if any of their employees or volunteers are indicted or convicted of any crime. Keeping the residents of Coatesville safe from fires is one job of the fire department and now they are also moving towards keeping them safe from criminals.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Source: http://dailylocal.com/articles/2012/02/01/news/doc4f29ce103245e156859826.txt?viewmode=2
Should Poll Workers Get Background Checks
With presidential primaries and caucuses looming in many states, plans for the next election cycle are in full swing. Many polling locations are planned to be in schools and the city of Madison, WI has something to say about that. They want all poll workers, who will work in one of their city schools, to go through a background check before being allowed to work on Election Day.
Currently the city is looking into ways to get the background checks done, as well as the criteria that will be used in order to make a decision on who can work in a school and who cannot. The question has also been raised asking if all poll workers should be subject to a background check or just those working in schools. The city of Madison has over 2000 poll workers and over 200 of them are scheduled to work in schools throughout the city.
At this time, poll workers are not subject to any type of background check, though they are required to take an oath and attend a training course. If the city of Madison is going to get this enacted, they are running out of time. The primary in Wisconsin will take place on February 21 and the next election is April 3.
It is important to note that the school districts plan to begin putting poll workers through background checks is not caused by any specific incident, it is only to get in line with school policies and procedures when it comes to employees and volunteers. Since poll workers will be in the school and will technically have access to children, it is important, according to the school, for these workers to go through the same process. The district also states that putting poll workers through background checks will bring a greater sense of safety in schools as well.
Organizations that are planning on doing large volume background checks may want to consider using a third party background check company like backgroundchecks.com. Not only can backgroundchecks.com perform background checks quickly and easily, they can handle high volume business accounts. In addition to doing traditional background checks, they have several products available that will give companies an even better overview of employees and volunteers. One of these products is called the US Offender OneSEARCH which should always be done when someone will be working around children. Taking care to check the background of anyone who is in contact with children is the safest way to conduct business.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
backgroundchecks.com Legislation and Compliance Update: FTC Warning: A Consumer Report is A Consumer Report Even if You Think It’s Not_1229
The Federal Trade Commission warned several mobile app makers that their products may be consumer reports. According to the FTC’s website, these app makers all performed instant database checks into individual’s criminal histories. The FTC noted that this information, if used for employment purposes, is a consumer report. The on an app that it is not for employment purposes. Instead, the FTC said it would look to indications of actual use, such as where the mobile apps were advertised and who was on the app-makers’ customer lists.
This is who use anything other than a regulated consumer reporting agency for their background reports. (whether mobile apps or websites) . The FTC points out that a consumer report is a consumer report, regardless of whether the companies providing or obtaining it think so. The FTC is absolutely correct.
At a minimum, the FTC and plaintiffs’ lawyers would be able to show a violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(f)(2), which prohibits anyone from obtaining a consumer report without having first certified to a consumer reporting agency the purpose for which the report will be used. Most likely, they would also be able to show a violation of:
· 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(2), which prohibits anyone from obtaining a consumer report for employment without having first told the subject that that it will obtain a consumer report and having obtained the subject’s authorization;
· 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(b)(3), which requires anyone intending to take adverse action based on a consumer report obtained for employment purposes to give a specific notice before taking that action, and
· 15 U.S.C. § 1681m, which requires anyone who takes adverse action based on a consumer report to give a further notice about the action.
It seems probable that the FTC would show this to be a knowing violation, which would entail . More significantly, plaintiffs’ lawyers would show this to be willful, which means that the employer would be liable for
Using a regulated consumer reporting agency like backgroundchecks.com avoids this particular problem. More importantly, it assures employers that the reports on which they make critical hiring decisions were prepared by a responsible agency using processes designed to produce accurate, complete, up-to-date reports. When another service – whether mobile or web – disclaims the FCRA, that is a sign that the report may be too unreliable to be used for hiring.
Boston Prep School Hired Registered Sex Offender to Work with Children
In Boston, the New England Conservatory has recently been under fire for hiring a registered sex offender and having this man on their staff for ten years. Peter Benjamin, who is a freelance videographer, has worked for the prep school by videotaping numerous concerts, performances and rehearsals involving the children of the school. When he was hired, he was not given a background check.
If Benjamin had been giving a criminal background check prior to being hired, it would have been noted that he had spent five years in prison in the 1990’s after being found guilty of sexually abusing teen boys. Though the school has a policy that prohibits the hiring of convicted sex offenders, Benjamin was able to slip through the cracks. He was hired on a freelance basis by the director of the youth philharmonic orchestra at the school Benjamin Zander. Zander would have been in charge of getting the background check done on Benjamin, something he failed to do. Zander has subsequently been fired recently for failing to ensure Benjamin had gone through a background check even though he know about Benjamin’s background.
What makes this even more troubling is not only was Benjamin not required to go through a background check ten years ago when he first started freelancing with the school, he was not put through a background check in 2010 when the school put in a firm policy about background checks for all of their volunteers, vendors and staff. In fact, besides Zander, school officials only found out about Benjamin’s background through an anonymous tip. Parents and the community, of course, were outraged and the school has received over 6000 letters of protest.
This is a situation that easily could have been avoided by ensuring that Benjamin had gone through a background check before being hired. Companies all over the US are upping the amount of background checks they give and with the help of companies like backgroundchecks.com, they are able to stop potentially dangerous situations before they even have a chance to happen. Though there are no accusations that Benjamin has done anything wrong since working for the school, the chance alone is too much for most people.
backgroundchecks.com has several products, like their US Offender OneSEARCH which could have told the school about Benjamin’s past instantly. Not only could it have given the school information on Massachusetts, it is able to search all fifty states.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Drug Roundup at Elementary School Yields Criminal Janitor with No Background Check
Late last month January, Beaumont Independent School District in Texas performed a routine drug roundup in their schools. Though it is not unusual to find a hit or two in the local high school, it was a surprise when a hit was found at Caldwood Elementary School. It wasn’t a student who had drugs on them, but the janitor, Darrel Patrick Clover Jr. When arrested and booked, it was found that Clover, age 32, has a lengthy criminal background, including six misdemeanor drug charges. He has never undergone a background check and has been employed at the school since 1998.
According to the Beaumont Independent School District, non-certified employees, basically anyone who is not a teacher, who was hired prior to January 1, 2008 was never required to go through a background check. The school district had no idea who was working in the same facilities with students. Even though these employees, including janitors, cafeteria workers and secretaries, do not work directly with students, they still interact with them on a daily basis. Parents question if the school district has the best interest of the students in mind with this policy on background checks. The school has stated that Clover has been suspended and that another policy states that any employee found with drugs will be met with criminal charges.
Clover, who had marijuana on him at the time of the arrest, has not yet been charged, but since he was found with drugs in an area that is certified to be a “drug free zone”, it is likely he will be charged with felony drug possession. This recent even raises the question of why all employees who have access to children in a school has not gone through a background check.
In this day and age, it is extremely easy and affordable for companies to get background checks done on their employees. Companies like backgroundchecks.com offer instant information for many types of records including criminal records by county, state and even on a national level. backgroundchecks.com offers many packages and products that can be beneficial for companies and organizations to look into like their Single State OneSEARCH which will pull information from one state and may include information from such places like the Department of Corrections and county courts.
Choosing a third party to do background checks could have prevented this from happening and would have given the school a better idea of who was interacting with their students.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Should Employees be Responsible for Self-Reporting Crimes?
Some employers, such as the University of Georgia system, are relying on employees to self-report any crimes that they commit while working for them. Unfortunately, as many would expect, this is a flawed system of reporting. Even if an employee of the University of Georgia is arrested, how many of them would actually report that? Surely there may be a few here or there, but overall, a majority would likely not report the incident, which is exactly what happened to Rudo Kieft, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Kieft was arrested on November 30, 2011 for DUI in Athens, GA, but was released soon after the arrest. He missed no work, nor did he report the incident to the University, even though the policy was to do just that. In fact, at this time, the University of Georgia doesn’t even have a policy or any direction on what to do when this situation occurs. In the situation of Kieft, it was simply a fluke situation and not one that was being actively sought. There is no way to tell how many other employees of the University of Georgia may have been arrested or convicted while in their employ, nor any information on what crimes they may have committed.
It is important to mention that the University of Georgia does have a policy to perform background checks on their employees. In fact, a very thorough and complete background check is done upon hiring on each and every employee. However, these background checks are only done when the employee is hired. The employee could work with the University for 15 years, for example, or more, and never have to go through any background check again, which can be dangerous. Periodically running background checks on present employees can help ensure the safety of other employees and will keep the organization a safer place for students and employees alike.
Companies like backgroundchecks.com are able to not only provide extensive and thorough background checks on new and present employees, but they also have a product called Ongoing Criminal Monitoring. This product of backgroundchecks.com is recommended for employers like the University of Georgia who wish to know about arrests made while someone is working for them. The product works by notifying the employer anytime one for their employees are arrested. It can be an extremely important tool for companies to use in order to keep their employees and others safe.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Source: http://redandblack.com/2012/01/26/univ-expects-employees-to-self-report-arrests/
Tennessee employers required to collect documents or use E-Verify database
Tennessee employers are required to demonstrate that they are hiring and maintaining a legal workforce under new requirements that became effective January 1, according to Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Karla Davis.
“This online verification process is designed to be convenient for employers and only takes a few minutes to complete. The department can provide assistance to employers who don’t have Internet access,” said Commissioner Davis.
Signed into law by Governor Bill Haslam on June 7, 2011, the Tennessee Lawful Employment Act (H.B. 1378) requires employers to verify the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees through the online E-Verify program (www.uscis.gov/everify), or requesting all newly hired employees to provide one of the following identity and employment authorization documents as required:
A valid Tennessee driver's license or photo identification
A valid driver's license or photo identification from another state where the license requirements are at least as strict as those in Tennessee
A birth certificate issued by a U.S. state, jurisdiction or territory
A U.S. government issued certified birth certificate
A valid, unexpired U.S. passport
A U.S. certificate of birth abroad
A report of birth abroad or a citizen of the U.S.
A certificate of citizenship
A certificate of naturalization
A U.S. citizen identification card
A lawful permanent resident card
The law also requires employers to obtain and maintain a copy of one of the above-listed identity/employment authorization documents for all non-employees as well. A “non-employee” is defined as any individual, other than an employee, paid directly by the employer in exchange for the individual’s or services.
The employment verification provisions referenced above will be phased in as follows:
All state and local government agencies must and participate in E-Verify or request and maintain an identity/employment authorization document from a newly hired employee or non-employee no later than January 1, 2012
All private employers with 500 or more employees must and participate in E-Verify or request and maintain an identity/employment authorization document from a newly hired employee or non-employee no later than January 1, 2012
All private employers with 200 to 499 employees must and participate in E-Verify or request and maintain an identity/employment authorization document from a newly hired employee or non-employee no later than July 1, 2012
All private employers with six to 199 employees must register and utilize E-Verify or request and maintain an identity/employment authorization document from a newly hired employee or non-employee no later than July 1, 2013
The Tennessee Department of Labor has authority to impose penalties for non-compliance. For a first violation, $500 for each employee or non-employee not verified; for a second violation, $1,000 for each employee or non-employee not verified; and $2,500 for a third violation.
The private employer must submit evidence of compliance within 60 days of the final order. If the employer fails to submit such documentation, then the commissioner has the authority to suspend the private employer's license until the employer remedies the violation.
Any lawful resident of Tennessee or any employee of a federal agency may file a complaint alleging a violation of the employment verification provisions of the Act. If there is satisfactory evidence of a violation, the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development will conduct an investigation.
As the Olympics Approach, Torchbearers Undergo Extensive Background Checks
In a background check attempt of international proportions, the International Olympic Committee and the London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games has decided to run background checks on the over 8000 participants who will be carrying torches for relay celebrating the upcoming 2012 Olympic games in London.
The torch bearers will be highly visible during the games and from all over the world as a way to promote solidarity and peace. Like going through a background check for employment purposes, each torch bearer will go through the verification of past employment, education and reference interviews. Since these volunteers will be interacting with hundreds or even thousands of others throughout the games, officials feel this is the best way to ensure safety.
Employers in the US certainly have the same idea when it comes to keeping their employees, clients and guests safe. In fact, in 2012 statistics already show that companies are expected to use more background checks than ever before. With the economy slowly improving, third party background check providers like backgroundchecks.com will certainly be busy in the upcoming months and years as this hiring practice finds its place in modern business. Specific products like the US OneSEARCH offer the perfect solution for companies who perform background checks.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Board of Education Members Step Down After Background Checks
The day has arrived where New Jersey Board of Education members must step down if they have not gone through a background check. A law was passed in 2011 that states all members of schools boards in the state must undergo a background check before serving. Out of the over 5000 members of school boards in the state, 184 of them did not get their background checks done and they have been asked to resign. If they do not resign, they will be removed from their positions.
The background checks that the members had to go through are identical to those teachers and volunteers must go through in order to work with children in the state. Many school boards nationwide have enacted similar policies, but New Jersey is the first state to do this for all of their schools.
Getting background checks done on anyone who works with children is an excellent idea and companies like backgroundchecks.com make it easy for employers to get the information they need on present and future employees. They offer products like Single State OneSEARCH that will instantly give employers all the information they need on a potential employee, for instance, from several state reporting agencies.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Source: http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/01/nj_orders_200_school_board_mem.html
Self Background Checks Expected to Trend in 2012
If you have applied for a job, certain licenses or applied to rent a home or apartment, you have probably had to go through a background check. Depending on the nature of the request, a background check will search everything from civil and criminal records, verifications of licenses, a check of your credit score, motor vehicle history and even call and check references you have provided for yourself. With so much competition in the job market and so many people going for the same positions, employers are using background checks more than they ever did before. They can afford to be selective at this time as they are often faced with tens if not hundreds of candidates to choose from. By doing these comprehensive background checks, they can ensure that they are only getting the best employees.
As a job seeker, arming yourself with the same information that an employer will have when determining if you are a good match for an open job position, can be crucial to landing the job. When you are forewarned with the information that employers can see, when they run a background check on you, you are in a better position to take care of any negative or incorrect information in your history before an employer is ever seeing it. For instance, it is very possible that there may be some incorrect information out there that has been attached to your name or social security number. Just like you should check your credit report annually, you should make sure your criminal background record is correct as well.
If you have to go through a background check, and you probably will since 3 out of 4 employers are currently doing them on potential employees, it will be in your best interest to have a self background check completed. This is a very simple and fast process and by using companies like backgroundchecks.com, you can do this all from the comfort of your home for one small fee. You will get access to criminal database records an employer might search, such as a national and state criminal background check and even driving record information. You can all of the previous mentioned information in one comprehensive job application check package from backgroundchecks.com. Arming yourself with this information and fixing incorrect information before going into the interview can help you land the job.
backgroundchecks.com - a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®) - serves thousands of customers nationwide, from small businesses to Fortune 100 companies by providing comprehensive screening services. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with an Eastern Operations Center in Chapin, S.C., backgroundchecks.com is home to one of the largest online criminal conviction databases in the industry. For more information about backgroundchecks’ offerings, please visit www.backgroundchecks.com.
Source: http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=bd79c035-f265-47bc-a839-cd48e5545322
