Pre Employment Screening Services

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.

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 alleviate negligent hiring risks.

A: Competed reports will be returned via email. You have the option of having completed results sent to multiple people. Be sure to provide a valid email address and also please check your Spam email folder or Junk email folder if you don't receive the report. In addition, if you order a police certificate, we can mail or Fedex the paper certificate to the address you provided with extra charges.

A: Names are used in different ways depending on the country. Many Spanish speaking countries such as Mexico and Puerto Rico use the Mother’s maiden name as an important part of their identity. For example, in Puerto Rico the mother's maiden name is part of every person's name. Even when they are married they still carry their mother's maiden name within their name. Because of this, all information and documentation in the court is filed under the full name (including mother's maiden name). Therefore it is very important to know the mother's maiden name when searching for criminal records.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.

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.

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.

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/.

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.

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 be 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.

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.

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.