Written by Tenant Screening Services, LLC

More than a third of companies perform no background checks on any potential employees. However, that appears to be changing, and now the number of criminal background checks for employment is growing. Here are a few points to keep in mind when conducting these evaluations:

Do your checks

When an employment agency provides staff or reference to staff, ensure to get your own background checks even if they come pre-approved. Some agencies do not follow up on gaps in resumes or confirm certain facts.  The same goes for landlords, who should get tenant screen services for those submitted from agencies.

The report

Once you get a report and it has red flags, you will need to inform the candidate in writing along with a copy of the report. Once you do, the candidate has a maximum of five days to respond to the issues in the report.

Decision

If you decide not to hire a candidate based on a report, inform the candidate in writing along with details of the third party that generated the report. Please note that not all jurisdictions allow declining an individual based on a background check.

Disposal

You must retain a background check for at least a year or until any charges of discrimination are resolved. Some areas may require additional retention. Federal law requires that disposal of such reports done so that they cannot be retrieved.

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Tenant Screening Services, LLC provides a variety of background checks online for landlords and employers.