 |
 Employment
Screening
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| Q: What is Negligent Hiring? |
| Negligent hiring is defined as an employer's failure
to exercise reasonable caution when hiring an employee. Today, courts
are increasingly holding employers financially and legally responsible
for illegal or violent actions by employees who were not subjected
to reasonable pre-employment screening. Basically, the courts are
declaring that the employer is legally responsible for what they know
and what they should have known about their employees. If an employee
causes harm to another employee or customer, and the employer knows
or should have known that the individual was a risk--the courts have
found the companies liable--and can require the company to pay thousands,
hundreds of thousands, or even millions to the plaintiff. Employers
in negligent hiring cases lose over 70% of lawsuits. |
| 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
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| 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. |
| International Searches |
| Q: Why does an employer need to conduct an international criminal background check when they hire someone who has previously resided outside of the US? |
| A:
As an employer you need to conduct an international criminal background check when you hire someone for the same reasons that this should be done when you hire an employee domestically. Employers are being held responsible for the people that they hire and their employee’s behavior once hired more and more each day. As an employer it is your duty to exercise due diligence when making a hiring decision. If you fail to do so you can be sued for negligent hiring. For example, if you hire someone who goes on to harm a fellow employee at your company in some way, and you as the employer could have known or predicted this behavior through the inspection of past behavior/background checks, it is a very real possibility that you as the employer will be held responsible and sued for your employees actions.
There are a large number of people who have come to the US as unauthorized immigrants, workers here on temporary work visas and students that have studied and perhaps worked abroad. International background checks should be completed on these individuals to obtain information regarding any criminal records they may have and to confirm employment and education that they have received in other countries. Other instances that may call for an international background investigation would be when an applicant has not been in the U.S long enough to provide adequate American references, or when an employer based in the U.S is to attempting to hire an individual who will be working at an international branch and is also living outside of the US. As an employer it is important to protect yourself and take the necessary steps to prevent negligent hiring by conducting international background checks when the need should arise. |
| Q: Can I assume the U.S government has already screened all the foreigners when they came to the U.S? |
| A:
Unfortunately, no you cannot. First of all, the reality is that the US government is not doing criminal background checks for all of the foreign people coming to the United States. In order to protect yourself against negligent hiring it is important to run the proper background checks on individuals you are looking to hire who have spent time in other countries. The criminal checks that are required by the government are completed for applicants that are applying for a permanent visa or green card, which is still a small portion of the total immigration. Further more, in most cases; applicants get a certification from the local authority, which only covers that particular region, and may not be the region that the criminal activity took place, allowing criminal records to go undetected. Needless to say, there is no way to check the large amount of illegal immigration coming to US every year.
In addition, a US person who has been working or living in a foreign county is not required to have criminal checks done. The US government does not have an obligation to screen people who have temporary work visas and are not required for US citizens returning to the US after spending time working or living abroad. Since 9/11, the US government has enhanced both the screening program and security system. However, the types of screens done by the government are done primarily for security purposes and to keep terrorists and fugitives out of the country. Many of the checks are not what an employer may be looking for in an employee, such as confirming degrees and special licenses earned or employment history completed outside of the U.S. Obviously, hiring a person who has foreign resident history without a background check and only relying on the background checks performed by US government, is not a smart decision and won’t solve the negligent hiring. |
| 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: Why do you need additional information such as Father’s name and Mother’s maiden name to conduct a search? |
A: Names are used in different ways depending on the country. Many Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico use the Mother’s maiden name as part of a person’s identity.
In India, using the Father’s name as a key part of a person’s identity is very common. Therefore it becomes an important piece of information when conducting a search. |
| Q: Do foreign countries have their own privacy laws? |
| A: Yes, foreign countries do have their own privacy laws and it is important to adhere with them when collecting information on an applicant in a foreign country. The way that data is acquired, passed on and used must be in adherence with the privacy laws of the country in which you are searching.
When obtaining information regarding an applicant in a foreign country the ways in which information is obtained must be consistent with the country’s laws in which you are searching. Also, always be sure that you have the applicant’s written consent to conduct the search.
When conducting education and employment verifications, some of schools simply won’t release any degree information according to their privacy laws, making it difficult to obtain the information needed. In many cases we are forced to comply with the privacy laws the country has in place in order to obtain any information at all. We must provide the information and release forms that they require and remain in compliance with their unique laws at all times. Some of schools or employers need the applicant to contact them directly in order to release the information, and other schools will not accept a standardized release form and require that release form approved by their laws be completed. Once you have gathered the data and are ready to make use of the records found from your search, it is important that you again keep in mind the specific privacy laws that the foreign country you are working with has in place.
The ways in which you use the information found in your search and the ways in which criminal records can be used in your employment decision are also governed by the unique privacy laws of each country. If both the job and the applicant reside in the foreign country you are searching, then the rules of the foreign country will apply. If the job and the applicant reside in the U.S, then it is acceptable for you as the employer to apply the same rules that would apply in the U.S. It can get tricky when the job is in the U.S and the applicant is currently living abroad. In this case, keep in mind that as an employer you must use due diligence before bringing the applicant aboard. The decision is in your hands as the employer. Since the job is to be performed in the U.S it is likely that you will make your decision under the rules that the U.S currently have in place. |
| Q: Why is the turnaround time slower comparing to the searches in the U.S? |
A: There are many factors that will affect the turnaround time of your search. Many less developed countries do not have centralized computer systems, and the searches are often completed by going through paper work that has been archived slowing the search.
Depending on the country there may be language barriers, time differences and name variations that make a search more difficult and naturally slower to complete. Some countries celebrate different holidays which can mean offices shut down for a number of days, again slowing the search.
In some cases it will be necessary for the court documents to be translated to make it easier to understand the offense that is being reported. Most of the time the search is for major offenses only, such as felonies however, some of the time it is possible to research misdemeanors and lesser offenses and in turn this will take more time. In some cases there can be limited access to information in the courts abroad. Different countries have unique ways of handling and protecting personal data.
Please keep in mind that despite the fact that there may be certain factors that will slow an international search down, it doesn’t mean that the search cannot be completed. |
| Q: What is the “Safe Harbor” law in European countries? |
| A:
There are important private policy rules in connection with many European countries that are known as the European Union (EU). The countries that are members of the EU are; Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The rules associated with the EU restrict the transfer of personal data collected from EU countries by businesses in the U.S. The information that is collected from EU countries must be in compliance with EU rules, therefore making it difficult for U.S businesses to collect and use the data.
We know that both the U.S and European countries are taking steps to ensure adequate privacy protection for their citizens; however their approaches are different and therefore create a problem for U.S businesses to obtain and utilize the data.
To bridge this gap a “Safe Harbor” framework was put into effect and approved in July 2000 by the EU. The Safe Harbor allows U.S businesses to avoid infringement of laws surrounding the EU rules and allows for the transfer of personal information from EU countries to the U.S. In order to use the Safe Harbor framework a company must join and become Safe Harbor certified. By becoming Safe Harbor certified EU organizations will recognize your company as providing adequate privacy protection as set out by the Safe Harbor directive, and therefore be able to receive personal data in compliance with the EU rules. For more information on how your company can join the Safe Harbor network and become certified please visit http://www.export.gov/safeharbor/. |
| Q: What’s the PIPEDA law in Canada? |
A: The Personal Information Protection and Electronics Document Act also known as PIPEDA, is a privacy law that Canada uses to protect the privacy of its citizens. As a general rule if you are an employer who hires Canadians you should follow PIPEDA. Employers are allowed to conduct background screening for pre-employment reasons only when they adhere to the ten principles identified in the act.
The ten principles in general terms explain the following. You as the employer are responsible for the personal data that you are handling and you must designate a specific person to be sure you are in compliance with PIPEDA. In addition you must have appropriate reason to be conducting such a search and specify these reasons. As the employer you are also required to have the employees consent to complete the search and use the data that you obtain upon your search. As the employer it is also your responsibility to limit the collection of data to what is applicable and lawful and to only disclose the information that you have obtained in ways in which you are legally required. The information that you attain regarding the applicant must be appropriately safeguarded, accurate and available for the applicant to view. If the applicant should have any problems with the data that was revealed they have the right to have the right to challenge the data.
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| Q: Does the FCRA apply to foreign countries? |
In the U.S we follow the FCRA as a privacy law to protect the personal information of our citizens. Other countries have similar, yet different privacy laws that they adhere to. For example, In Canada, there is PIPEDA law and In European counties; there is “Safe Harbor”.
There are parts of the FCRA that are quite similar to the laws in other countries, however the FCRA does not directly apply to foreign countries as it’s a Federal law in the United States. However it becomes important to familiarize yourself with the unique privacy laws of the country in which you are searching. There will oftentimes restrictions and differences in rules and regulations on how you are able to obtain and utilize data. The bottom line is that you don’t want to pay for the records that are is illegal to obtain according to their privacy law in that country. |
| Q: What’s the verification procedure when you verify a degree in a foreign country?
|
A: When verifying a degree from a foreign country we will ask for the following information:
• Applicants complete name
• Applicants date of birth
• School Name
• School Address and location of school
• Type of degree and major to be verified
• Graduation Date
• Copy of the applicants degree for education verifications in India
• Release form signed by the applicant
It is favorable if you can provide as much information regarding the applicant and the degrees that are to be verified. Some schools have very common names and therefore make for a difficult search. In these instances it helpful to provide as much additional information as you can about the school. Also, some countries, such as India may require a copy of the actual degree, which can either be faxed to us or uploaded. With the adequate information, will verify the authenticity of the University, dates of attendance, graduation date and degree information and also reduce the turnaround time.
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| Q: What are the sources of International criminal searches? |
A: Court Records are not always public records like United States. Therefore our researchers always try to utilize different sources of criminal searches include courts, police agencies, government agencies and prosecution offices to complete searches. The sources and the rights to obtain data through these sources vary by country, and in some countries they may have specific privacy laws and regulations on how personal data is collected and used for pre-employment screening purposes. The availability of the data is also dependent upon the country. Some countries simply have less access to public records then others. It is important to look at the specific regulations for the country in which you wish to conduct your search to get a better idea of which sources will be available in the specific country you are searching. |
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