I am an employer—what is negligent hiring?
Legally defined, negligent hiring is failing to exercise reasonable caution in hiring an employee. You can be held legally and financially responsible for criminal acts conducted by your employees who were brought onboard under negligent hiring conditions. If you hire someone you are reasonably certain will cause harm to another employee or business associate can and typically will find you liable for huge financial penalties. Employers typically lose three out of four cases.
I am an employer – how do I avoid negligent hiring?
Be thorough. Check all references and verify all critical information about each prospective employee. You need to undertake a criminal records search on every place of residence at which a candidate has lived going back—minimally—seven years. No less than three business and/or professional references the applicant has cited need to be verified going back at least seven years. All degrees, doctorates and licenses should be validated. Taking these precautions is a clear demonstration of an employer’s willingness to avoid negligent hiring.
What does a typical background check cost?
Edufacts/USBS, Inc. can conduct a background check for a fraction of what it will cost you should you make a bad hire. An employee with a criminal background or simply one who lies about his work experience or educational qualifications has already shown their propensity for negative behavior. Hiring this person because a thorough search was not undertaken could cost you tens of thousands of dollars.
Why should I spend the money on a background check?
Why? Because people don’t always tell all the truth. Nearly 70% of all job applications contain misleading, misrepresented or mistaken information. One-third of all business fail because the employee on paper didn’t turn out to be the employee once hired. One workplace violence lawsuit brought against you can cost on average upwards of $1m. And over one-half of all on-the-job injuries can be thrown at the feet of alcohol and/or drug abuse. There are so many other statistics to be frightened by but don’t let that happen to you. A marginal cost for a background check will eliminate all the fear and liability.
Is a fax the best way to send you the release signed by my pending employee?
You must have the applicant’s explicit written permission (in accordance with the FCRA) before accessing any of their personal background information. This signed release must be kept on file for a minimum of three years if that individual is not hired. If that prospective employee is hired, it is customary and suggested you keep the form on file for the duration of their employ. Additionally, we may ask you for copies of those forms in order to conduct audits.
Once I sign up, when will my account become active?
As soon as we receive your signed Client Service Agreement, you account will be activated within three hours. However, we do reserve the right of denying any account application we receive.
What is best – a county or statewide criminal search?
Both searches involve uncovering misdemeanor and felony convict information while investigating criminal records. You increase your chances of finding criminal record data by following these simple instructions:
*If you know—or believe you know—which county your subject was tried in for a criminal offense, start with that county. The original court records reside in this district and our trained researchers will begin their search there.
*If you know—or believe you know—which state your subject was tried in for a criminal offense, start with a statewide criminal search there. Obviously a statewide search covers a much greater geographical area and would include every county courthouse in that province. Additionally, a single statewide criminal search is far most cost-saving than initiating multiple county criminal searches.
*If you are reasonably sure your subject’s criminal behavior happened recently, then undertake a country criminal search. The main difference between statewide and country criminal records is the ease of access and availability. A person committing a crime is tried in a county courthouse. After conviction, the records are housed at the county courthouse and made available in a timely manner. These same records may not be reported to statewide facilities for days or even weeks. Each state treats this procedure differently and not all states require their county counterparts to pass on this information. For this reason, criminally recorded information may be not available in Alaska, California, Delaware, Nevada, new York, South Dakota or West Virginia.
How do I find someone who committed a crime in one county but is jailed in another?
Search in the county where the crime was committed. They will handle the criminal case and maintain all criminal record data. If you don’t know in which county the crime was committed, then a statewide criminal search is absolutely your best option.
I know someone who was arrested – will my report indicate that arrest?
If this individual was arrested and subsequently released without a conviction, it may not always show up in the court records. There is the possibility—depending on the county involved—that arrest records might be returned if a case is ongoing or awaiting trial. As the old maxim relates, a person is innocent until proven guilty so only a conviction should be considered in hiring.
Are databases used in your criminal record searches?
We do use criminal database searches by county and state criminal record searches are done on-premises at the specific courthouse. There is no more thorough and comprehensive method than conducting physical research within the clerk’s office at the court house.
Do your criminal searches turn up misdemeanors and felonies?
Absolutely. Both county and statewide investigations will reveal any misdemeanor and/or felony convictions.
Can you go back 10 years or more with your criminal record searches?
Our searches retrace activity at least seven years. The FCRA statute maintains that you are allowed to go back more than seven years in some states. But California, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico and Nevada will only allow employers to use criminal searches within a seven-year window. Dependent upon future salary, certain states also allow a lengthier investigation including Colorado, New York, Texas and Washington.
What is the procedure to order a search request?
Very simple. Requests can be made via our online system, email or fax. Our online service is secure and fast and is recommended in conducting the most efficient and time-saving background check.
How will you return my search once completed?
Edufacts/USBS, Inc. will return completed reports via email, fax or online. We will send the results to multiple recipients upon your request. Additionally, if you order more than one search for the same person, we can send you the final report or send you each specific search upon completion.
Will my applicant also be sent a copy of their personal background check results?
Definitely. Simply input your applicant’s email address into our system at the time of ordering the background check. Edufacts/USBS, Inc. will email the applicant their completed report.
Will you keep my files in your system indefinitely?
Yes. You can access the reports at any time should the need arise. We do the filing so you never have to worry about deleting or losing a report.
I ordered a criminal background search for an applicant but forgot to ask for a credit check. Do I have to go through the entire process a second time?
No. Our system is more than savvy enough in allowing you to enter an additional search to an already-completed profile without the nuisance of reentering all the information for a second time.
What forms of payment will you accept?
You can pay via a credit card for individual reports. We also offer monthly invoicing choices. Your invoice is always visible online so you can pay at any time.
If you do a search and don’t turn up anything, do I still have to pay.
Yes. You will be charged for every search requested.
Q: Is Edufacts/USBS, Inc. in compliance with FCRA regulations?
Yes. Edufacts/USBS, Inc. is a consumer-reporting agency and thus regulated by all state and federate mandates and regulations.
