EmployeeScreenIQ

As so many people seek jobs in education, and those positions are sensitive and require a trustworthy employee, it's extremely important to make sure you hire the right worker for the job.

The education industry has long remained a fast-growing and popular career choice. During January, the industry employed 3,094,400 workers and had an unemployment rate of 5.9 percent, which is much lower than the national unemployment rate for all industries of 9.7 percent.

It's vital to maintaining a safe learning environment that schools properly screen teachers, faculty, janitorial staff, teaching assistants, coaches and other extra-curricular staff. Here are some sample background checks to conduct on potential school employees:

• Social Security number trace - This procedure, which also includes an address history search, authenticates that the Social Security number an applicant provides is associated with an individual of the same name and birth date. The Social Security number trace reveals addresses that are used to select court jurisdictions in which to check for criminal records, and also will reveal any aliases.
• Education verifications - This confirms the schools the candidate attended, diplomas they received, degrees and certificates they were awarded and any additional information available.
• Employment verifications - This verifies information on an applicant's resume, including dates of employment, starting and ending positions and salaries, reason for termination, and eligibility for rehire. It also may include interviews with former supervisors.
• County criminal records search - This consists of an on-site manual search for the superior, upper, lower and municipal court records available in each county. These records will indicate whether or not a candidate has had a felony, misdemeanor or infraction within the last seven years or longer. The end result includes date of arrest, date of filing, charges, level of charges, disposition date, final disposition of charges and any sentence or penalty.
• National criminal records database search - These aggregate databases are comprised of millions of records from various sources, including county court houses, state departments of incarcerations, state record repositories, probation departments, townships and sex offender registries.
• Federal criminal record search - Cases found through these searches typically involve violations of the Constitution or federal law, including things such as tax evasion, embezzlement, bank robbery, kidnapping and mail fraud. Federal criminal convictions will not appear in state or county felony and misdemeanor court record searches.
• Homeland security check - This cross references an applicant's name against more than 90 worldwide known terrorist and fugitive databases that include individuals, organizations and companies considered to be a threat to global and national security. The Homeland Security database is updated daily as various lists are modified.
• Sex offender registry - This multi-state search provides sex offender case information from such sources as: bureaus of investigation, departments of law enforcement, departments of corrections, departments of justice, departments of public safety, sheriff's departments, state attorney general's offices and state police.
• Substance abuse screening - This can include physical exams and urine, hair or saliva testing for various substances.

Labels: Sample background checks

A criminal background check can help employers of all sizes avoid making bad hires. Visit http://employeescreen.com to learn more.

There are many things to take into consideration during the hiring process, and while you may be drawn to certain candidates because of their experience, educational background or personality, it's important to find out everything you can about an applicant before offering them a job.

The best way to ensure a job seeker is who they say they are is by conducting a criminal background check on them. Most importantly, these checks will confirm the accuracy of the information a candidate provides on their resume or during an interview.

Criminal background checks also can weed out applicants who are unfit for or dangerous to your workplace because of things like a criminal record. Keep in mind that before conducting a check, you must first get the candidate's permission and consult the Fair Credit Reporting Act to determine what information you can and cannot access.

Here are four other steps you can take to avoid problems while hiring, as compiled by The Wall Street Journal:

1. Use a formal job application - This should request a candidate's full name, address, education, employment record and references. All of this information can give you a better look into someone's background than the information they may provide on a resume or during an interview. You also can state on the application that supplying false information can lead to dismissal.
2. Ask tough questions - After you've carefully reviewed the application, it's important to ask probing questions during the in-person interview, especially about gaps in employment. While a lag in employment is usually explained by attending school, changing careers or caring for a child, it also can mean the inability to hold down a job, a sudden dismissal or prison stay. You also can arrange for other employees at your company to meet the candidate in order to get a second or third opinion.
3. Call former employers and check references - This will help you verify the person's employment and salary history. The best question to ask a former employer is whether or not the candidate is eligible for rehire.
4. Invite a potential hire for a paid tryout - This will help you learn a lot about a candidate, including how well they fit into your business environment. You can ask them to work on a test project or spend a trial day in your office, which is a great way to test an applicant's technical skills.

Labels: Criminal background check

If you've ever been convicted of a crime, or even accused of one, you know how much it can change nearly every aspect of your life, and potentially harm your chances of future employment.

However, many companies are willing to hire people who have had certain criminal convictions, so that should not deter you from searching for and applying to open positions. So what shows up in a background check if you've been accused or convicted of a crime?

As dictated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, a background check can reveal a number of facts about criminals, including:

• Court records
• Incarceration records
• Criminal records
• Drug test records
• Sex offender lists

For those who have been accused of a crime, there is some information that employers are not legally allowed to access through a background check. That information includes: civil suits, civil judgments and records of arrest after seven years, as well as other negative information, except criminal convictions, after seven years.

Fortunately for employers, the FBI has reported that law enforcement agencies throughout the nation saw a 4.4 percent decrease in the number of violent crimes during the first six months of last year when compared to the first six months of 2008.

In addition, property crimes throughout the country decreased by 6.1 percent during that same period, while arson decreased by 8.2 percent.

These statistics are a nice change from previous years, when both violent and property crimes mainly increased, as shown in the graph below from the Bureau of Justice Statistics:

Labels: What shows up in a background check

Whether you're a recruiter, employer or job seeker, it's important to know what the top criminal background check tends will be this year. Visit http://employeescreen.com to learn more.

Employment Screening Resources recently its "Third Annual Top Ten Trends in the Pre-Employment Background Screening Industry" report for this year. The report includes new trends that are beginning to make a difference and old trends that have evolved over time.

The top 10 criminal background check trends are:

1. Increased focus on whether credit reports and criminal records are discriminatory.
2. More lawsuits, including class action litigation over accuracy, privacy and consumer rights.
3. Increased pressure on privacy and data protection, especially as it relates to the location of the data.
4. The battle over databases will continue - with the latest issue being the proliferation of cheap "do-it-yourself" Web sites and iPhone apps.
5. Increased need for employer vigilance.
6. Lawsuits for using social networking sites.
7. Increased technology, signaling the end of paper and faxing for employment screening.
8. I-9 and other government requirements will grow.
9. Screening will expand beyond new employees to vendors and others on premises.
10. International screening will be more prevalent.

Another big trend will be the increased professionalism of the screening industry. This comes about with the growing presence of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, which has established itself as the voice of the screening industry and is fostering higher levels of professionalism.

The organization, which was founded in 2003, was formed "to promote ethical business practices, promote compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and foster awareness of issues related to consumer protection and privacy rights within the background screening industry."

As of late, the NAPBS has pushed for its members to approve an accreditation program, which would give employers more confidence when selecting a background check company. An accreditation program would provide a baseline of professional competency that employers can rely on.

Labels: Criminal background check