Guides on choosing, evaluating, and working with background screening providers, from the All Screeners team.
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The checks that make sense for an office hire aren't the checks that make sense for a driver, a nurse, or someone who'll have access to your company bank account. Here's how to match the screening to the actual risk of the job instead of running the same expensive package on everyone.
ComplianceBefore you can run a background check, federal law says you have to give the applicant a disclosure form that stands completely alone. Mix it into your job application or add extra legal language, and you've built a template that can turn into a class action.
ComplianceThe FCRA never spells out an exact number of days before you can finalize a rejection. Here's what "reasonable time" actually means, why five business days became the default anyway, and how it's different from the separate 30-day dispute reinvestigation clock.
ComplianceBefore you reject a candidate over a criminal record, EEOC guidance says you have to actually look at three things: the offense, how long ago it happened, and whether it connects to the job. Here's what that step really involves.
ComplianceA step-by-step order of operations for a company that's never run background checks before: write the policy, pick a provider, build your forms, train your team, and set up adverse action before you need it.
ComplianceIn a growing number of states, ordering an employment credit check for a role that doesn't qualify for an exception is the violation by itself, before the employer ever looks at the result.
ComplianceFCRA violations can trigger actual damages, statutory damages commonly cited at $100 to $1,000 per violation, punitive damages, and attorney's fees. Here's why one bad form usually turns into a class action instead of a single complaint.
ComplianceA real audit checks five things: is your disclosure form actually standalone and current, is adverse action handled the same way every time, are records disposed of properly under FACTA, is your policy applied consistently, and are you following the rules in every state you hire in.
ComplianceA background check policy on paper doesn't stop a manager from skipping a step to move fast, or making a legal judgment call that should have gone through your process. Here's how to actually get it followed: a short checklist, one clear person to call, and spot checks that catch problems before a lawyer does.
ComplianceA background check policy written to the federal floor breaks state law in California, Illinois, Colorado, and New York City. Written to the strictest state, it needlessly restricts you everywhere else. Here's the two-layer structure that actually holds up: one federal-compliant baseline, plus state-specific overlays you review on a schedule.
Choosing a ProviderIf you hire in more than a few states, the vendor question that matters most isn't price. It's whether they actually adjust for each state's rules or just run one national process and hand you the risk.
Choosing a ProviderSwitching background check vendors doesn't have to stall your hiring. Time the cutover right, keep your old records, test the new setup before it goes live, and give your current vendor real notice.
ComplianceFederal law doesn't let you toss an old background check file in the trash or hit delete and call it done. Here's what FACTA's Disposal Rule actually requires, and a simple workflow for a small HR team to follow.
ComplianceWhen a candidate disputes something on their background check, the reinvestigation is your provider's legal duty, not yours. Here's what FCRA Section 611 actually requires, how long it typically takes, and why deciding mid-dispute is a risk not worth taking.
ComplianceAdverse action is a two-step notice process, not a one-and-done rejection email. Here's the pre-adverse notice, the waiting period, and the final notice, with a real template for both letters you can use today.
ComplianceThe FCRA requires a specific CFPB-written Summary of Consumer Rights before adverse action, and employers can't substitute their own version. Here's what it is, when it's required, and where to get the current one instead of guessing at old wording.
ComplianceLooking at a candidate's public profile is legal. Using what you see there isn't, if it touches religion, disability, pregnancy, age, or national origin. Here is how employers who do this well keep that line from getting crossed.
Report TypesIdentity verification confirms a candidate is who they say they are, before any other check runs. Skip it or rush it, and every other report on file could be checking the wrong person.
ComplianceA clean criminal background check doesn't cover healthcare hiring. You also need to check the OIG's exclusion list and SAM.gov, and you need to keep checking, not just at hire. Here's what each list actually does and why it matters.
ComplianceA written "no felons" policy is riskier than one bad individual decision, because a blanket rule can't do what the law actually requires: check if the conviction relates to the job. Here's why disparate impact hits a written policy harder.
ComplianceNo, not if a third-party company is running the report. FCRA requires a standalone written disclosure and the candidate's signed authorization before you pull anything. Calling a reference yourself is a different, narrower rule.
ComplianceA copy-and-fill background check policy template covering purpose and scope, who gets checked by role, consent, adverse action, record retention, and who owns it, from someone who ran this process for 30 years.
Choosing a ProviderA short expectations email, sent the moment a candidate signs consent, heads off almost every anxious follow-up. Two copy-paste templates for the first update and for a delay, plus what you can legally say about timing.
Report TypesEmployment verification usually confirms dates, title, and rehire eligibility, nothing more. Here's why so many verification calls come back thin, and what to do about it.
ComplianceA promotion doesn't take an employee out of FCRA's reach. The same disclosure, authorization, and adverse-action rules that cover new hires apply to internal candidates too, including the often-missed rule that the disclosure needs its own standalone form.
ComplianceFederal law doesn't ban asking about salary history. A growing list of states and cities do, and it's specifically that question, not "what are you looking for," that's off-limits. Here's the difference and what to ask instead.
ComplianceGINA bars employers from asking about genetic information or family medical history in hiring, and consent doesn't fix it. Here's where it hides in post-offer exams and wellness paperwork, and the narrow exceptions that actually apply.