Guides on choosing, evaluating, and working with background screening providers, from the All Screeners team.
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Before 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.
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.
Report TypesMaintenance staff and leasing agents get keys to people's homes. That's a different risk than a typical office hire, and it changes what you should actually be checking for.
PricingUnder $20 usually buys an SSN trace and a national database search, not a real background check. Here's what that actually covers, what it misses, and why the gap can cost you more than the $20 you saved.
Choosing a ProviderGoogling a candidate, running a free records site, and calling references yourself feels free. It isn't. Here's the FCRA trap that catches small businesses doing it themselves, and the protected-class info a real screening company filters out.
Report TypesA sex offender registry check searches one narrow database: people currently required to register. It's not a substitute for a real criminal background check, and treating it like one is a common, costly mistake.
ComplianceOnly a handful of things on a background check report are real deal-breakers: identity fraud, a conviction that's both severe and directly job-related, and an active disqualifying license. Everything else, an old minor conviction, an explained gap, a common-name mix-up, a thin employment check, deserves a second look before you say no.
Choosing a ProviderPBSA accreditation is a real signal, but it's not always the thing that decides your pick. Here's when it's an actual differentiator, when it's just a nice-to-have, and the questions that tell you more than the badge itself.
Report TypesThe quickest way to catch a fake degree is to stop trusting the diploma and verify the record straight from the school. Here's what a diploma mill actually looks like, and how education verification really works.
ComplianceSeven mistakes I saw over and over from first-time employers running background checks, from the disclosure form buried in an application to picking a provider on price alone, and exactly how to fix each one.
Choosing a ProviderMost buyers vet price and turnaround time and never ask about dispute rate, the number that actually tells you whether a provider is getting reports right. Here is what it measures and how to ask for it.
Choosing a ProviderSix things that actually separate good background check companies from bad ones, plus a simple scoring rubric to compare your shortlist, from someone who bought these for a living for 30 years.
Choosing a ProviderNine real warning signs a background check company is cutting corners, from suspiciously cheap criminal searches to no dispute process. Written for the employer choosing a vendor, not a job seeker worried about a scam email.
Choosing a ProviderEight questions worth asking before you sign with a background screening provider, or before you decide to stay with your current one.