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The right education is a key feature of a qualified candidate. Certain industries, fields, and positions require specific credentials or certifications, and the desire to meet these requirements can result in forged educational history.

According to ResumeLab, more than a third of Americans admit to lying on their resumes. Another 27% admitted to lying about their experience, including education.

There has never been a more important time to verify your candidate’s education and to protect yourself and your business. At EagleScreen, we always suggest including an education verification screening in a pre-employment background check or during a corporate background screening to ensure a quick, smooth hiring process or merger/acquisition.

A breakdown of the education verification process

We offer education verification services as an add-on for almost every type of background check. Before you select this service, you may be wondering how exactly the process of verifying education works, or why including this type of screening is so important.

Candidate information

Before a background check (and an education verification screening) can begin, full, accurate information on the candidate is crucial. While most information on a candidate will likely come forward during the application process, confirming that this information is as accurate as possible is essential. This information includes:

• Legal first and last names (Confirm the name the candidate would have used on the potential diploma or certificate—there’s always a possibility that the candidate’s name won’t match the diploma, particularly if they’ve been married since graduating)
• Name of the college, university, or high school
• Address of the educational institution
• Dates attended (month/year) and date of graduation

Applicant authorization release

Before beginning a background check, it’s essential that an information release form is authorized and signed by the applicant being screened. Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance is extremely important to protect your organization as well as the candidate’s personal information.

The applicant must always be aware that their background is being investigated, and their agreement must be received before we can get started.

Contacting the educational institution

The next step in the verification process is for us to reach out to the educational institution the applicant claims to have received their degree or diploma from. We’ll work directly with the institution and provide them all applicant information to verify their claims.

By using a third-party service, we take the tedious work out of your hands so you can focus on hiring.

In the institution’s hands

Once the information is in the institution’s hands, they’ll recover the needed information and confirm whether or not the applicant earned a degree with them. The turnaround time for educational screening varies and is largely dependent on the institution, their processing times, whether they have the records readily available, and whether any issues are found with the information provided. Typically, you can expect to have your results within 2-3 days.

Why is education verification important?

Now that we’ve covered how education verification works, we’ll answer the big question: why are these screenings so important?

When you’re hiring a job applicant or connecting with a new business, you want to ensure not only that you’re working with the most qualified candidate, but also that this candidate is honest. Validating the credentials of your candidate allows you to rest easy knowing that your candidate is credible and that you aren’t at risk for any future repercussions.

How do people fake their education?

Many candidates who fake their education credentials are simply assuming (or hoping) that you won’t bother looking into it. However, some candidates may also use more fraudulent, complex methods.

Diploma mills are more prevalent in the US than ever before. The Higher Education Opportunity Act describes a diploma mill as an institution providing diplomas for a fee or providing degrees with very little training or educational time. These ‘institutions’ provide fake diplomas and degrees for applicants to purchase and are particularly successful now that most jobs require at least a high school diploma or GED. Unlike most reputable institutions, diploma mills can often be recognized by the lack of a .edu on their websites.

Another route dishonest applicants may take is to falsify education at a foreign institution. It’s more difficult to contact foreign institutions and crediting systems in other countries may vary, making it more difficult to prove upfront whether a degree is equivalent to one in the United States. Foreign diploma mills are also presently selling degrees in the USA.

Liars make you liable

Employees with fake degrees can expose you to serious risks and liability concerns. In certain fields (particularly law, medicine, and engineering/architecture), hiring an employee without the right certifications and educational degrees can put your business at risk.

We’ll verify that your applicant has the education and skills needed for the position by making sure their degree is from a legitimate, accredited institution and confirming their dates of attendance, degree, area of study, and graduation date.

Verified education = verified employee

Once you’ve received a green light on your candidates, you’ll feel empowered knowing that no matter which applicant you convert to an employee, you’ve made the right decision. While we can’t guarantee a perfect fit, having verified information on your candidate will put you at ease knowing that you’ve selected someone qualified and that your business is safe. To learn more about education verification and how you can ensure your candidates are clear and qualified, contact us today.

When it comes to making hiring decisions, corporate due diligence gives you peace of mind, helps prevent fraud, and mitigates risk. In the world of sales, mergers, and acquisitions, these intensive yet crucial investigations help you understand the full picture of the transaction and the people involved.

Because of the various parts of the process, corporate screenings can take some time. While this can greatly depend on your selected screening service and chosen company, there are several key factors that can impact the timeframe of your background check.

Elements of a corporate screening

Before we dive into the estimated timelines, let’s break down what a corporate due diligence screening entails. This can vary based on your selected package (we offer basic, standard, and premium packages), but most due diligence searches contain some or all the following screenings.

County civil court record search

County civil searches are conducted at the county level. They date back as far as seven years for employment purposes (but go back even further when done strictly for due diligence). These searches will receive a result of “clear” or “not clear”, including a detailed report of any records found, including but not limited to, the relevant dates, case type, parties involved, and case resolution.

There are key differences between county civil and federal or criminal searches. With county civil searches, the potential charges made against the client are by the plaintiff, as opposed to a federal, state, or local prosecutor. Often, these cases don’t result in incarceration and aren’t criminal, and tend to result more frequently in a financial settlement.

Typically, county civil court record searches take between five and seven business days.

County criminal court record search

As opposed to civil searches, criminal searches include felonies, criminal traffic offenses, and misdemeanors. These occur at the district, superior, supreme, and justice or municipal court levels.

While most record searches take 24-48 hours, our average turnaround is eighteen hours.

Federal district criminal searches

Federal criminal searches will investigate whether there are prior criminal charges by the federal district court, and outside of local and state jurisdiction. Federal crimes can include fraud, embezzlement, copyright law, insider trading, and more.

When investigating a federal criminal record, it can take under 24 hours if there’s no relevant (or potentially relevant) match. For those with potential matches, it can take longer. As with county searches, EagleScreen averages eighteen hours for criminal record checks.

Nationwide criminal record locator

Nationwide criminal record checks will scan federal criminal records, as well as county records throughout the country. These checks also typically take around eighteen hours.

Nationwide bankruptcy search

Bankruptcy records are available through Public Access to Court Electronic Records (or PACER). These records go through a nightly indexing process and are available immediately when searched.

These records will show bankruptcies filed in the last ten years, if present.

UCC / lien / judgments

This type of state-wide security check reviews a business’ history at a deeper level. A Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) check searches for any filings made by a lender about the financing of a business or individual’s assets. This is a legal notice the lender has made to the secretary of state, and can greatly affect a business’ credit score. Our searches also include the ability to locate Federal or State level tax liens levied against an individual or business, as well as any financial judgments levied in local or federal court. 

Depending on the jurisdiction, a UCC check takes 24-72 hours.

Social Security trace

Social security number (SSN) traces are crucial to learning the most about who you are screening. SSN numbers are a primary source of identification, and most major applications (credit cards, rentals, major purchases) require them. Having an SSN traced will allow you to see where your applicant has lived in the past, and thus where to search for past criminal and civil records. These traces generally go back as far as ten years.

SSN traces usually take one business day but can take as little as a few hours.

SEC / FINRA searches

The Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) are often tied together, although they do operate as two separate financial agencies. Both SEC and FINRA protect investors against securities fraud (AKA investment fraud), and both agencies handle insider trading, omission, stock manipulation, and pension fraud, as well as Ponzi and pyramid schemes.

FINRA and SEC do take proportionally longer with background checks. These checks are typically completed in 48 hours.

Education, employment, and professional license verification

Education verification can aid in protecting your organization against liability claims. By proving the degree, training, and education claims of the candidate, you can feel confident in your business decisions. Education verifications check past universities, colleges, high schools, and more for enrollments, degrees, major completion status, and dates of attendance and graduation.

As with education, employment verification investigates and proves (or disproves) the prior employment claims made by whoever you are screening. This is a deeper dive than simply references—it requires official records of employment from prior workplaces.

Like educational and employment screenings, professional license verification confirms whether the screenee holds the professional credentials they claim. This type of background check is particularly important as it protects your company from participating in fraudulent business, subsequently making you liable for legal action or penalties.

Generally, these types of verifications can take 2-3 days. Most of this is dependent on the responsiveness and cooperation of the institution. It also depends on the level of access to their education, employment, or professional licensure records, as well as whether hard copies are required.

Turnaround times can vary

So far, we’ve covered what a corporate due diligence check can include (depending on your selected package), as well as timelines. These timelines aren’t always set in stone. A variety of factors can affect the turnaround time for a corporate screening.

Missing/incorrect paperwork

Human error is a huge cause of delay when it comes to background checks. Missing paperwork, incorrect information, or information that is missing altogether can result in a delay in your turnaround time. Here at EagleScreen, we make it easy to avoid this issue with our electronic capture of paperwork, cutting down significantly on any potential delays.

Compliance

With background checks, compliance is undeniably the most important component. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives the applicant protective rights as to how their information may be handled. Those screening a candidate or business transaction applicant must provide documents requesting background check permission.

They must also include fair reasoning for not moving forward with the transaction if it is due to something in the check, as well as a summary of rights. Ensuring background checks are 100% accurate to avoid errors (and therefore, non-compliance) requires an experienced agency that can ensure compliance is followed at every step of the process.

International checks

An international check, particularly in a remote location or in a different timezone, can result in delays of your screening process, especially concerning communication.

COVID-19 and unforeseen circumstances

Unforeseen circumstances such as natural disasters or global health emergencies such as the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic can result in delayed timelines for your screening.

Background check company

Your chosen screening company can play a role in the timeline of your corporate due diligence. Choosing EagleScreen can ensure you receive accurate, real-time screenings for a smooth transaction.

Speed up the process with EagleScreen

While elements of a corporate due diligence screening can be lengthy, EagleScreen averages 18-48 hours for a full corporate screening. Choosing the right package and screening service for your business is crucial, and with EagleScreen you can receive real-time updates for quick, accurate, and efficient background checks.

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Nonprofits sometimes hesitate to apply background checks to volunteers. Often, they worry that if they treat their volunteers with suspicion, they may lose them.

In most cases, however, the opposite is true. Volunteers want to be able to trust that your organization is protecting them as well as the populations you serve by ensuring that employees and volunteers alike are adequately screened.

Obviously, protecting vulnerable populations like children or the elderly is paramount. But background checks also help protect your money, your physical property, and your reputation.

The injury done by a volunteer who behaves in an unsafe or criminal manner can go far beyond the immediate damage they cause. Starting with a hit to your reputation, an incident can snowball into bad press, decreased funding from donors, fewer volunteers who are willing to give you their time, and even penalties and lawsuits. When you take the time to adequately screen your volunteers, you protect your organization as a whole, as well as the populations you serve.

The following is a brief guide on why background checks are important for service organizations, charities, and nonprofits, and how to choose the right background company for your unique needs.

Benefits of screening volunteers

Although screening volunteers can sometimes seem like a drain on your time and pocketbook, the benefits can be exponential.

First and foremost, background checks help create a safer environment for everybody. Often, these are members of populations such as children, the elderly, the homeless, and others who are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Screening your volunteers provides an extra layer of protection for the people who need it most.

Background checks also make your employees and other volunteers feel safer. Knowing that the people they’re working side-by-side with have gone through the same vetting process that they have assures them that your organization values their safety and well-being. That, in turn, creates a sense of community and loyalty.

Background screenings also protect your organization’s assets. Some volunteers may have access to anything from your computer passwords to your checkbook to the keys to your property. Criminal background checks can let you know if a potential volunteer has a history of taking advantage of situations like this.

Screenings also protect your organization from liability. For example, if you failed to do an adequate background check of an employee who turned out to have a violent criminal past and who subsequently hurt a client, fellow volunteer, or employee, your company could be considered negligent and thus liable for damages—not to mention that the hit to your reputation could be catastrophic.

Above all, the right background screenings protect your mission. They keep your people, assets, and reputation safe so that you can focus on making the world a better place.

More than just a criminal background check

Checking your volunteer’s criminal background is an important step. But it’s not the only step. In fact, doing a background check on a volunteer isn’t really any different than running a background check on a prospective employee. Depending on the nature of the job duties, any of several types of screenings might be wise.

For example, if your volunteer will have access to a vehicle that belongs to your organization or will be driving as part of their duties, a motor vehicle records search lets you know if they have a history of unsafe driving.

If they’ll be responsible for people’s safety, drug screening might be a smart move.

If your volunteers will be serving on your board, working in a leadership position, or representing your organization in a public-facing role, employment and education verifications give you peace of mind that their background is in keeping with your values and vision.

Here are the screenings that are most often used when checking a volunteer’s background:

• Sex offender registry search
• Criminal background check
• Motor vehicle report
• Drug screening

Volunteers are more than just warm bodies carrying out a set of duties. They’re part of your community, and regardless of the type of work they do for you, they represent your organization. Engaging someone whose ethics, character, and background aren’t aligned with your organization’s mission can ultimately do you more harm than good.

A cookie-cutter approach isn’t enough. Every nonprofit, charity, and service organization is different and has its own needs and requirements. You need a set of background checks specific to your needs so you can make the best decisions.

How to find the right screening company for your nonprofit

Not all nonprofits are the same—and neither are all background screening companies. Finding the right one saves you time and money. Just as importantly, it protects your reputation with your volunteers, your clients, and the public at large.

Here are some of the key characteristics to look for in a screening company:

Treats volunteers with respect

Your organization probably relies in no small part on people who are willing to share their time and energy for free. That’s why a screening company that treats them with respect is vital. The company you choose should communicate effectively, make the process as convenient as possible, and assure your volunteers that any personal information that they share is secure.

Understands federal and state compliance requirements

The same compliance regulations that govern hiring practices also apply to volunteers. Failing to comply with them may mean penalties or even lawsuits for your organization. It’s important to find a background check company that understands the complicated regulatory landscape and can guide you through it.

Customizes your screenings

Different organizations will have different needs, and there’s no point in spending time and money on unnecessary checks. Look for a background screening company that’s willing to work with you to figure out exactly what you need and then run those—and only those—screenings.

Works quickly

Background checks that take too long can cause bottlenecks in your onboarding process, slowing down your ability to provide services. Working with a screening company that has experience running background checks and communicates efficiently can greatly speed up the time it takes to put a volunteer in the field.

Final thoughts

The world needs the services you provide—and you need volunteers who can help. The sooner you find them, the sooner they can start making a difference. If you’d like to talk to one of our experts about how we can help, contact us today.

Every landlord hopes to find dream tenants—the kind who pay their rent on time, don’t bother the neighbors, and leave the property in the same good condition they found it in.

Fortunately, finding these dream tenants isn’t simply a matter of luck. The criteria for selecting the right people can be broken down into three simple questions:

• Can they afford your rent?
• Do they have a criminal background?
• Have they caused problems for previous landlords?

The key to answering these questions is using a comprehensive screening process that tells you what you need to know about your applicant. This helps mitigate the risks that landlords face every time they hand over the keys to their property to a virtual stranger.

Fortunately, background screenings can be conducted quickly and easily, so you won’t need to leave your property empty any longer than necessary. Screenings are a simple investment that pays off big time by helping you save money, protect your property, and preserve your peace of mind.

Please note that in order to comply with federal fair housing regulations and avoid accusations of bias, it’s important to subject all applicants to the same screening process. It’s also important to inform applicants about exactly what kind of screenings are being run and what their rights are concerning those screenings.

Working with a reliable and experienced background screening company helps ensure that you treat your renters fairly and are in compliance with the local and federal regulations.

Determine minimum monthly income

First and foremost, it’s important to find out if your prospective tenant can afford the rent you’re asking for. This is as important for your tenant as it is for you. A tenant who commits to rent that they can’t afford risks falling behind on payments. That can cost their landlord money in lost rent and eventual eviction proceedings, and the tenant can also do long-lasting damage to their credit, making it harder for themselves to rent elsewhere.

But how do you determine what a tenant’s minimum income should be? A good rule of thumb is that annual rent should be no more than 30% of the tenant’s gross annual income. Thus, if a prospective tenant earns $100,000 a year, they should not commit to paying more than $33,000 a year, or $2750 a month, in rent.

This rule may not cover all the nuances of a tenant’s financial situation, of course. They may have income from other sources beyond their primary job, or they may have financial obligations (such as child support or credit card debt) that aren’t immediately apparent. A comprehensive tenant screening that includes a credit check can give the landlord a more complete picture of the applicant’s ability to make regular and timely rental payments.

Nonetheless, if a landlord who is renting their property for $2750 a month knows that an annual income of $100,000 is a baseline income, they can save themselves and their prospective tenants time by “prequalifying” candidates before they get to the formal screening process.

Look for eviction history

Evictions can be costly, time-consuming, and stressful. Eviction-related costs often run into thousands of dollars and can take several weeks, meaning lost income in rent as well as anxiety for everyone involved. Renters who’ve been evicted in the past are at high risk of being evicted again in the future, so it pays to find out about their history.

Eviction records stay on file with courts for up to seven years and typically show up within 30 to 60 days. Evictions sometimes show up on credit reports, but don’t always, so don’t count on a credit check alone to give you the information you need.

A nationwide eviction search will check the county records for all of your applicant’s past addresses. It’s the most reliable way of determining if your applicant has been evicted in the past and should be part of every comprehensive tenant screening.

Run a criminal background check

Safety, of course, is a paramount concern for most landlords, who want to be sure that they’re doing everything they can to protect themselves, their property, and their other residents. Failure to adequately check a prospective tenant’s criminal history can lead to a host of problems, including crime, damage to the landlord’s reputation, and negligence lawsuits.

A criminal background screening checks your applicant’s name against local, state, and national criminal and sex offender databases. You’ll get a list of convictions, pending cases, and active warrants that will tell you the nature of any criminal activity, as well as how often and how recently it’s taken place. A criminal background screening can also check your applicant’s name for US and foreign sanctions and watchlists, and for involvement with terrorism, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and more.

Laws vary from region to region and criminal history alone may not be legal grounds for denying a tenant, so be sure you familiarize yourself with tenant laws for your area. Again, this is an area where an experienced background screening service can ensure that you not only have the information you need but are in full compliance with all regulations.

Determine rental history

Even if your prospective tenant has no previous evictions, it’s still a smart move to check their full rental history. This lets you get a more comprehensive sense of what kind of renter an applicant will be and find out what kind of experience previous landlords have had with them.

A rental history includes:

• A list of all the applicant’s previous rental addresses
• Dates lived at each place and amount of rent paid
• Contact information for the landlord or property manager at the time they lived there
• Any issues, such as late payments, evictions, broken leases, damaged property, or other problems
• An assessment of the tenant from previous landlords

Even if it never got as far as eviction, a troubled rental history is a red flag that can help landlords make sound decisions about who they select as tenants.

Of course, some applicants, such as college students, may never have rented before. That shouldn’t automatically disqualify them, but landlords may want to take extra steps to protect themselves. In addition to running a comprehensive tenant screening, for example, landlords can check personal references, ask for a bigger security deposit, or require a co-signer on the lease.

Make your decision

Although no screening process can guarantee that a tenant will be a perfect fit, an applicant’s past is one of the most accurate predictors of future behavior. Knowing if a prospective renter can afford their rent, has a criminal conviction in their past, or has caused problems for other landlords can help you make smart and informed decisions.

With the results of a comprehensive background check in hand, you’ll be in a much stronger position to select the best tenants or make adjustments depending on the circumstances. Bigger deposits, co-signers, and recurring auto-payments can give the landlord some extra assurance in cases where the tenant has a less-than-perfect financial picture but is a good fit otherwise.

A reliable background screening company can help you get the most accurate picture of a tenant’s history, as well as saving you time. To learn more about EagleScreen’s tenant screening services, contact us today.

Have you ever been curious about exactly what kind of information shows up in a background check and how it can help you make smart employment decisions?

Background checks provide useful data at many levels by ensuring that your candidate has the right background, skills, and formal qualifications for a job. Even more importantly, they help keep your employees, customers, and anyone else who comes in contact with your business safe.

Criminal background checks are especially important. Knowing whether or not an applicant has a history of criminal activity puts you in a stronger position to evaluate their suitability for a particular position in your company.

Types of criminal background checks

While television and movie detectives are often shown entering a single name into a single database and finding out everything they need to know about a suspect within seconds, the reality is a little more complicated. A comprehensive background check involves searching multiple databases (and sometimes multiple names). Each search builds on the last, eventually forming a complete picture of your candidate’s background.

There are numerous types of background screenings, including education, licensing, and employment verifications, SEC/FINRA screenings, and civil records searches, that employers can use to vet job applicants. In this post, however, we’ll talk specifically about screenings that are used to identify candidates with a criminal history, beginning with the SSN trace.

SSN trace

The social security number (SSN) trace isn’t a criminal background check in and of itself. Instead, it provides a comprehensive history of an applicant’s social security number, including the date and state where the number was issued and all current and former addresses and names of its owner.

It’s important to note that an SSN trace isn’t the same as identity verification. An SSN trace can find valuable information about the person who has used it, but it can’t verify that it belongs to the person who provided it. However, if there is conflicting information, such as a date of issuance that’s at odds with the candidate’s birth date, further analysis can be done to verify that this number does indeed belong to the candidate.

By revealing previously used names and a complete address history, the SSN trace allows a more comprehensive search of various records.

National criminal search

With the information returned from the SSN trace, it’s now possible to run a search of digitized records across thousands of jurisdictions for the applicant’s current and previously used names. If a criminal background is detected, the information returned typically includes:

• A list of infractions, misdemeanors, and felony convictions as well as a list of pending cases
• Charge classification (infraction, felony, or misdemeanor)
• Verdict
• Database where the record is located

A national search is a good first step that can flag potential issues across jurisdictions, but because it doesn’t check records at the county level, it may not give you all the information you need.

Current county criminal search

The majority of felony and misdemeanor cases are filed in county courts. These records are generally considered the most accurate and up-to-date, but because they aren’t always digitized, they may not show up in a national search. Checking each of the individual counties where an applicant has lived is one of the best ways to discover any history of criminal activity.

Using information from the SSN trace and noting any red flags thrown up by the national criminal search, this search provides detailed information about felony or misdemeanor convictions, pending cases, and active warrants. Information returned typically includes:

• Defendant’s name
• Case number
• Charge classification (felony/misdemeanor)
• Charge Type
• Verdict
• Verdict date
• Sentencing information

National Sex Offender Registry search

Because some states restrict reporting to only criminal convictions that have taken place in the past seven years, older crimes may not show up as part of a national or county criminal history search. However, a National Sex Offender Registry report can let you know if your candidate is a registered sex offender, regardless of when they were convicted.

All fifty U.S. states, territories, Indian Country, and the District of Columbia are required by federal law to monitor and track convicted sex offenders. Nationwide, there are currently about 750,000 registered sex offenders.

Your applicant’s name will be searched in the National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR), an aggregate database created to identify and monitor sex offenders. If your applicant’s name is matched to the registry, a search will typically return the following information:

• All names and aliases the applicant has used or is currently using
• The state in which the applicant was convicted
• The address the applicant provided to register as a sex offender

Depending on the state in which the case was tried, you may also be able to see the type of crime committed, whether it was a felony or a misdemeanor, and what kind of sentence was received.

Global watchlist search (OFAC/SDN)

A global watchlist search is run to make sure you’re in compliance with the U.S. Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) requirements. It can help you find out if your applicant is considered a threat to national security and can also tell you if they’ve been prohibited from working in certain industries.

A global watchlist search will check your applicant’s name(s) against domestic and international watchlists. These include official sanction and embargo lists to make sure your candidate isn’t a known terrorist, money launderer, narcotics dealer, or someone who is otherwise engaged in criminal activity. This search also typically includes a check of government and regulatory databases of individuals who are barred from working in industries such as healthcare or finance.

If the candidate’s name is matched on any list, details of the sanction/record are usually returned.

Final Thoughts

It’s rare, of course, that a job candidate has a criminal history that will prevent you from offering them the job. Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Knowing if a candidate has a criminal background—and if so, what kind—helps you make hiring decisions in the best long-term interest of your company.

If you’d like to know how EagleScreen can help, contact us today for a free demonstration.

In a short-staffed world and a highly competitive hiring market, it can be tempting to cut corners on the employee screening process, especially when candidates have strong resumes and solid references.

Failing to conduct background screenings, however, leaves your company vulnerable to a host of problems big and small. HR background checks are an opportunity to obtain comprehensive and objective information about an applicant and are your company’s best line of defense against issues that can range from petty theft to outright violence.

When running a background check, there are key pieces you should know.

Why background checks are important

The importance of HR background checks can be summarized in one word: protection.

Comprehensive background screening helps protect your employees, customers, clients, property, and bottom line. While no screening process can guarantee an employee’s future behavior, insight into their past helps you make smart and informed employment decisions.

Done well, pre-employment background checks result in:

• Fewer accidents
• Higher productivity
• Reduced liability
• Reduced loss from theft or fraud
• Increased compliance
• Decreased risk of workplace violence

What do background checks look for?

Not all background checks are the same, but there are a few critical areas that should be a part of any comprehensive screening process.

Criminal history

Criminal background checks conducted both locally and nationally ensure that your candidate has no criminal history or felony convictions.

Although there are many criminal database searches available online, these records frequently contain outdated or inaccurate information, so it’s important to not rely solely on these products for your criminal background checks. Instead, hire a trusted vendor who will follow the Fair Credit Reporting Act mandate to verify information at the source.

Signs of drug abuse

These check for signs that your employees are abusing drugs, both because of the potentially criminal nature of the activity and because an employee who is abusing drugs may pose a safety hazard and/or be less productive.

Threats to national security

These screenings check your candidate against U.S. and global official sanctions and embargo lists to make sure they aren’t a known terrorist or threat to national security.

Employment history

Employment verification ensures that a candidate’s work history—including workplace, title, duties, and dates of employment—is accurate.

Education history

Like employment verification, education verification checks a candidate’s educational background to ensure that they attended an accredited institution. It checks their degree, dates of attendance, and field of study.

Licensing verification

Licensing verification checks to make sure that the candidate actually has the professional licenses they claim. It will verify the license, the date it was obtained, and the expiration date.

Motor vehicle records

This check lets you know if a candidate has a history of traffic violations or accidents, and if so, how many and how recently. It’s particularly important and may be required by law if driving will be part of your candidate’s regular job duties.

Benefits of regular HR background checks

There are many benefits to conducting regular HR background checks on your candidates and employees.

Increased productivity

It’s estimated that 40% of employees lie on their resumes. Weeding out unqualified and dishonest candidates before they’re hired means a higher-quality workforce in the long run, and that in turn means better productivity for your business.

Reduce turnover

It’s costly to replace workers who weren’t right for the job. By hiring high-quality employees to begin with, you increase both retention and morale while saving time and money.

Reduce workplace violence and accidents

Checking to see if a candidate has a history of criminal violence or drug abuse is one of the best ways to reduce on-the-job injuries and accidents. This keeps your employees—and anyone else who comes in contact with your company—safer.

Reduced liability

Comprehensive background checks not only reduce the likelihood of injury, they also form a paper trail to prove that your hiring process was thorough and complete. That protects you from charges of negligent hiring and potential lawsuits.

Reduced risk of theft

Knowing if a candidate has a history of theft, fraud, or other white-collar crime helps minimize the risk that they’ll steal from your company.

Less bad publicity

Injuries, accidents, and lawsuits are bad enough on their own, but all too often they go hand in hand with bad press. Reducing all of them through consistent screenings helps protect your reputation as well as your people.

Compliance with regulatory requirements

It’s important to stay in compliance with the regulatory standards for your industry. Some of these are federally mandated, others vary depending on state and local laws. Either way, staying in compliance keeps your company on the right side of the law.

Federal laws to know

Several federal laws directly or indirectly govern the HR background check process. This is a brief overview of the most important ones:

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The FCRA regulates how employers handle credit reports, criminal history reports, driving records, drug tests, and other background check reports created by a third party. Employers are required to disclose that consumer reports may be used for employment decisions and to secure consent from employees/job applicants to obtain them.

Equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws

Federal law prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, or religion, as well as disability, genetic information (including family medical history), and age. In essence, this means that all candidates should be treated the same way and receive the same disclosures, notifications, and checks.

Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act, or FACTA)

FACTA mandates, among other things, an employer’s responsibility to keep an applicant’s personal information secure during the screening process.

Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)

Simply put, the IRCA prohibits discriminating against a candidate based on their national origin or citizenship, providing the candidate is authorized to work in the US.

Also, be aware of state and local regulations. In some jurisdictions, for example, you may have to make the job offer first before requiring a background check, or may have certain obligations to ensure that private information obtained is kept secure.

Where can I get a background check?

There’s no shortage of companies that offer background checks. However, as an experienced HR background check company, we at EagleScreen pride ourselves on standing out. We offer screening packages tailored to your company’s needs and based on your industry and location.

While many screening companies simply do computerized database searches for your candidate’s name, we back up our technological expertise with human experience. We’re here to guide you through the complex regulatory landscape, help you identify which packages and add-ons are best suited for your particular situation, and follow up on any red flags that show up in a candidate’s screening.

Interested? Contact us today.

The world is remote now—and that means that call centers are even more critical to our daily function than they used to be.

Think about it: if you have a question about how to use your wireless mouse, will you be walking to the wireless mouse store, hat in hand and mouse in pocket, just to admit that you can’t find the “on” button? Or will you be dialing up the mouse’s manufacturer from the comfort of your own desk?

Even pre-pandemic, the answer for most people was option B. Why leave the desk when you don’t need to? And in most cases, COVID-19 only accelerated our adoption of technologies that allow us to conduct the business of life remotely.

That means call centers—offices or organizations that exist to receive and respond to a large volume of inquiries by phone—are becoming even more important (and busier). Many call centers are currently in the process of hiring more employees.

Hiring is always challenging, and it’s made even more so by the fact that physical call centers may be becoming a thing of the past.

This effectively raises the bar on what is required for call center employees to do their work. Not only do they need to be friendly, well-spoken, and knowledgeable—they also require the skills to operate in a remote environment.

A strong interview—and background check—can help.

What do employers look for in a candidate?

Call center employees have stressful jobs. They need to multitask while retaining and appropriately recording information, and do it all with a smile you can hear on the phone.

Typically, employers look for candidates who meet the following criteria:

Possess strong communication skills

Call center agents talk for a living—and every word that they say has the potential to reflect, either positively or negatively, on the brand they represent.

Employers typically look for excellent grammar and the ability to express warmth and understanding through tone of voice. A major in vocal performance isn’t required—but a little modulation of emphasis and pitch can go a long way in aiding remote communication.

Demonstrate a history of providing excellent customer service

Call center work is a customer service job, so a history of providing excellent customer service is a strong qualification for the role.

Call center employees need to be able to make callers feel valued, and they should never express frustration or anger—even when a customer might be testing their patience. When it comes to verifying that record of providing excellent customer service, employment verification is helpful.

After all, ten years of completely fabricated customer service experience is more of a red flag than it is a reason to hire!

Have a sense of empathy

So how exactly does one communicate warmth and maintain composure when fielding dozens (if not hundreds) of calls per shift?

It’s all about empathy. People who are able to understand the reasons behind a behavior find it much easier to respond in a positive manner.

For example, a good call center employee will understand that a customer who is yelling about a frozen browser window isn’t yelling at them—instead, this person is dealing with a difficult emotion, which could be anything from anxiety about a work product being late or unrecoverable to feelings of helplessness and irrelevance arising from the difficulty of navigating an increasingly unfamiliar technological environment.

High-empathy individuals are able to tap into the underlying emotion, retaining their composure when dealing with unhappy clients.

Are responsible and attentive to detail

Responsibility is critical in all roles—and particularly in those that are high-volume (and remote). You need to be able to trust your call center employees and know that they won’t drop the ball when you aren’t looking.

Red flags for call center employees

When hiring call center employees, it’s important to keep an eye out for these red flags:

Frequent job turnover

A short duration of work at each role held isn’t always a red flag, but it certainly can be—especially if it indicates a history of dismissals. In particular, be attentive to positions held for a short amount of time for which a potential candidate hasn’t listed a reference. This could be a sign that the relationship concluded on bad terms.

False or misleading information on resume

Lies on a resume are always cause for concern. The question here is less “how bad is this” than “how do I find them?” And that, of course, is where background checks come in.

It’s estimated that 40% of employees lie on their resumes, so pre-employment background screening increasingly goes beyond just looking into criminal history and instead proactively verifies that the claims that employees make about their work and educational history are true.

No questions in the interview

Call center employees should be inquiring, personable, and engaging. Some of the highest-performing ones will go above and beyond, asking questions about a caller’s pets or hobbies.

If a candidate doesn’t ask any questions during an interview (a time when most people are at their most engaging), it stands to reason that they won’t perform well in the day-in, day-out work of conversation.

How to ensure that your background checks are thorough

When hiring a call center employee (whether that person will work remotely or in-office), a thorough background check is key.

That’s why it’s important to work with a knowledgeable, trusted screening provider who can do a deep dive into your prospective employee’s history.

At Eaglescreen, we make it our job to get you the information you need to make the right hire for your business. This means that we won’t just call a reference number twice and close out a file—instead, we’ll continue to follow up until we have all of the information we need to make sure that your call center employees are accurately representing their history and skills.

The good news is that a knowledgeable, trusted provider will both know the regulations and advise you on best practices, saving you time and money.

Call us today

Background checks are both critical and complex. It’s important to conduct them, and employers are also legally and ethically obligated to treat candidates fairly and to comply with a host of rules and regulations governing the process.

If you’d like to talk to one of our experts about how to screen candidates while staying compliant with all federal and state requirements, call us today.

Wondering how to hire staff for your small business?

Hiring new employees is exciting—but it can also be nerve-wracking. You want to be sure you find the right person, of course—someone who has the skills to do the job well and who’s a good fit for your company culture.

But you also need to be sure you’re in compliance with all local, state, and federal regulations when going through the hiring process. And once you find the perfect person for the role, you want to be sure you’re complying with all regulations when you bring them on board.

Hiring the wrong person or hiring the wrong way can cost time and money that few small businesses have to spare. We’ve put together this short guide on how to hire staff for small businesses so that you’ll know the steps you need to take to bring the right people on board the right way.

1. Create the job description

In most cases, your job description will be your prospective employee’s first introduction to the role, and possibly to your company. It should provide a clear description of the job duties while adhering to legal requirements.

Job descriptions can also be used as legal justification for hiring (or not hiring) a particular candidate. On the flip side, they can and have been used against employers in lawsuits as evidence of discrimination. It pays to make sure yours is well-crafted, accurate, and non-discriminatory.

Job descriptions typically include the following:

• Job title
• A brief description of your company and how this role works within it
• Department and/or supervisor’s title
• Job duties
• Salary range and/or benefits

Even before writing the description, however, it’s important to decide which of the following categories the job falls into. Not only should you include this information in the job description, but it’s smart for your company’s sake to be clear about what you really need.

Full-time or part-time

Full-time positions are those that call for 30 hours or more per week. Employers are legally required to offer certain benefits to full-time employees.

Requirements for employee benefits vary based on location and the size of your company. In most cases, you’re required to offer full-time employees health insurance, workers’ compensation insurance, and social security, Medicare, and Federal Insurance Contributions. Many employers offer other benefits such as retirement savings plans, life insurance, or education assistance.

Employee or contractor

A permanent employee is hired for the long term, with no set end date to their employment. But maybe you need seasonal help or a specific set of skills for a short-term project. In that case, an independent contractor, who can provide the labor you need when and only when you need it, might be a better bet.

You’re required by law to extend benefits to permanent employees, but not to contractors. However, if you end up treating a contractor like a regular employee—for example, with full-time work, set hours, and no clear deadline for your working relationship—you may be required to offer those same benefits to them.

Exempt or non-exempt

Exempt employees typically earn a salary, make at least $684 a week, and aren’t eligible for overtime pay. Non-exempt employees, on the other hand, are paid by the hour and must be paid overtime if they work more than 40 hours in any given week.

While this is based on federal criteria, the rules around exemption vary from state to state. Misclassifying employees can lead to stiff fines, so be sure you understand the rules and how to stay in compliance.

2. Determine required qualifications

Describing the qualities and qualifications you’re looking for in a candidate should be a straightforward task, but it pays to be extra careful when crafting this part of your job description.

Watch out for language and requirements that could be considered discriminatory. Avoid the use of gendered language (for example, referring to a potential candidate as “he” or using terms like “salesman”) or insisting on qualifications that aren’t truly necessary to execute the duties of the job.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) distinguishes between “essential” and “marginal” job functions. Essential functions are those that are necessary for the completion of the job’s duties, whereas marginal ones are not. For example, the ability to pack and label a box for shipping might be an essential function, but the ability to stand while doing it may be marginal.

Essential job functions can be used to determine whether employees are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Be careful not to accidentally discriminate against potential employees by characterizing marginal functions as essential ones.

Among your qualifications, you’ll want to include requirements for:

• Skills and knowledge
• Years of work experience
• Education or certification(s)
• Any physical and environmental demands

Determining the qualifications you really need is one of the most important things employers can do when deciding how to hire staff for small businesses.

3. Research local employment law

State and local laws regarding minimum wage, equal pay, background checks, drug screenings, garnishments, and other employee-related situations vary widely.

For example, several states have passed Equal Pay Acts requiring employers to pay employees equal pay for work of a “comparable character,” meaning you can’t offer a higher salary for one position over another if they both call for substantially similar skills, knowledge, responsibilities, and efforts.

The rules around background checks vary from state to state as well. Some states require employers to refrain from asking potential candidates about any criminal history until a conditional job offer has been made, for instance.

Similarly, some states require that candidates are made aware upfront if a drug screening will be part of the hiring process or prohibit an employer from requiring a drug test before making a job offer, for example. And of course, rules around screening for cannabis use are changing rapidly as it becomes legal in more and more states.

Staying abreast of rapidly changing state and local laws helps ensure a hassle-free hiring process.

4. Use a reliable screening service

Knowing all the regulations isn’t enough to maintain compliance. You also need a screening service provider who will comply with all local and state regulations when conducting pre-employment background checks. Your vendor should also be able to assist in the compliance process, rather than requiring you to be your own compliance expert.

The good news is that a knowledgeable, trusted provider will both know the regulations and advise you on best practices. At Eaglescreen, our technology also allows you to deliver all of the paperwork required for a background check to an applicant with the click of a button, simplifying and streamlining your process.

5. Keep accurate pay records

You’ll want to be sure that you’re keeping accurate and complete pay records for all your employees including times and days worked, overtime hours, regular hourly pay, additions and deductions, and total wages paid per pay period. 

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Department of Labor (DOL) mandate the type of pay records employers are required to keep and how long they must keep them.

There are a number of federal, state, and local regulations around employee record keeping as well. Requirements for how long employee pay records need to be kept and how quickly they need to be furnished upon an employee or former employee’s request vary from state to state, so be sure you understand what your exact obligations are.

5. Set up a payroll system

If you don’t have a payroll system set up already, now is the time to do it. A well-executed payroll system can lower your tax burden, keep you in compliance with standards for compensation—and, of course, keep your employees happy!

Depending on your budget, company size, and overall needs, it might make sense to do your payroll in-house or to outsource it, either to a local accountant or bookkeeper or to a national firm.

Whether you handle it in-house or hand off the job to someone else, remember that payroll is about more than just giving your employees checks once or twice a month. Whatever system you choose, make sure it allows you to:

• Stay in compliance with state and federal regulations
• File employment taxes
• Track sick days and vacation time
• Pay your staff on time
• Organize your tax records

Final Thoughts

When considering how to hire staff for small businesses, employers are legally and ethically obligated to treat candidates fairly and with respect. It may seem daunting, but the good news is that once you have a system in place for finding, vetting, hiring, and onboarding them, you’ll be able to hire efficiently and effectively.

{{CTA}} If you’d like to talk to one of our experts about how to screen candidates while staying compliant with all federal and state requirements, call us today.

Whether you’re an employer, a landlord, or a volunteer coordinator, you understand the importance of protecting your clients, customers, employees, tenants, and assets. A comprehensive background check is one of the best ways to keep your organization—and everyone who comes in contact with it—safe.

But the background screening process can be confusing if you’re new to it. Laws and regulations can vary from state to state and industry to industry, there are multiple types of checks that may or may not be relevant to your circumstances, and you want to make sure you’re treating potential employees, tenants, and volunteers fairly—without cutting corners.

Moreover, there are numerous screening companies out there offering similar-sounding services. You know you need to find one you can trust, but how do you find the right one for you?

Not all background checks and not all background screening companies are the same. We put together this short guide on how to find the right background check service just for you. We’ll show you what to look for, explain what kind of services are available, and talk about when you should hire one, what your legal responsibilities are, and how the right company can help you make sense of it all.

What should I look for in a service?

With dozens of screening services out there to choose from, how do you narrow it down? Here are a few things to look for:

Compliance expertise

Being in compliance with federal, state, and local rules about background checks is vital. You need to balance the legal requirements requiring background checks with legal requirements that you respect the rights of the people you’re checking.

And while federal law applies to everyone, laws in states, counties, and cities can vary widely.

Failure to comply with regulations can result in problems ranging from slower hiring times to penalties and even lawsuits. Choosing a service that understands the importance of compliance and is willing to work with you to ensure it can save you endless headaches later.

Human expertise

Don’t get us wrong: computer searches are great! But bots can’t do it all. When there are red flags, it’s smart to have a real live expert, not an algorithm, follow up. This protects your candidates from false positives—if they have the same name as a convicted felon in their area, for example—and gives you an extra layer of security, knowing that the information you get on each candidate is accurate.

Humans can also go the extra mile when verifying past employment, education, and licensing. In most cases, there isn’t a single database to search for this information, so screening company employees send emails, make calls, and follow up.

Many of our competitors will simply meet the bare minimum requirements of their service-level agreement. For example, they might call the same number five times over five days, and, if they don’t get an answer, close the report with no results. At Eaglescreen, we don’t take shortcuts, and we don’t deliver the bare minimum. Instead, our team goes above and beyond to obtain the correct contact information required to verify the information (not just close) the service.

The personal touch can make all the difference, so don’t underestimate its importance.

Turnaround times

Accuracy may be more important than speed—but that doesn’t mean you need to accept slow service! Whether you’re a landlord with apartments to rent or an employer with a position to fill, it’s not an exaggeration to say that time is money. Look for a service with a record of quick turnaround times.

Different types of background check services

There are numerous types of background checks. Depending on your situation, some of them may be required by law, others might be a smart investment, and others may not be necessary at all.

Drug screenings, for example, might be mandated by law for employees who work in safety-sensitive transportation industries such as aviation, trucking, railroads, mass transit, and pipelines.

Virtually all organizations can also benefit from criminal records and sex offender registry searches, whether they’re mandated by law or not. Allowing someone with a history of acting in a violent way to work for you or rent from you potentially endangers other employees or tenants and opens you up to charges of negligence.

On the other hand, companies will generally get more value from education and licensing verifications, while landlords are probably more interested in eviction history checks.

When looking for a screening company, it’s important to understand what types of screenings they offer and whether those screenings are applicable to your specific needs.

The following is a list of standard screening services. A good screening company will walk you through your options and help you choose the ones that best suit your needs:

• Social Security number traces and address validations
• Criminal records searches at the county, state, and national levels
• Sex offender registry searches
• Civil records checks
• Employment verification
• Education verification
• Professional license verification
• Motor vehicle records
• Credit reports
• Drug screening
• Eviction history
• Global records check

When do you need a background check service?

Not all situations call for a background check, but many do. When should you consider getting one?

First, when they’re required by law. For example, if you work in education, public safety, or healthcare, among others, a criminal background check and sex offender registry check are both standard and legally required. Similarly, if your business is regulated by the Department of Transportation, a background check that includes a motor vehicle report history is mandated by law when hiring a commercial driver.

But even when a background check isn’t legally required, it might still be a smart move.

For example, if you’re a landlord, you want to be sure that your tenants have a history of paying their rent on time and won’t cause you or other tenants any problems. In addition to checking out their criminal records, you can also request a credit check to see if they have a history of paying their bills on time, and an eviction history report to see if they’ve been evicted by a previous landlord.

If your company is hiring a new employee, a criminal check and sex offender registry check can reduce your chances of hiring someone who’s inclined to be violent. Education, employment, and licensing checks can ensure that the information on the resume is accurate and that they have the qualifications they need to do the job. When hiring at the executive level, where candidates typically have access to accounts and sensitive company information, the extra detail provided by a due diligence check can be invaluable. 

Legal regulations you should know about

The Federal Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs the way that background checks are conducted and used. It applies to all background checks conducted in the US, whether you’re hiring an employee, vetting a volunteer, or screening a prospective tenant.

In addition to federal law, there are regulations at the state, county, and even city level. It’s particularly important that companies with offices in multiple jurisdictions be aware of regional regulatory differences. What is acceptable in one location may not be acceptable in others.

The following are some of the most important aspects of the FCRA as they apply to organizations that are conducting background checks. It’s not intended to be comprehensive, but it should give a good overview of some of your responsibilities:

Inform applicants of their rights

It’s your responsibility to inform candidates of their rights concerning background checks and to have them sign a statement to the effect that they have been made aware of their rights.

Provide up-to-date consent forms

Downloading random consent and authorization forms from the internet can lead to unfortunate results!

Believe it or not, companies have been sued for not providing candidates with the most up-to-date consent forms. Working with a screening company helps ensure you always have the most up-to-date forms and information.

Ensure that applicant information is kept secure and private

As part of the screening process, candidates may be required to share identifying information including their social security number, date of birth, full name, and present and past addresses. In the case of drug tests, they may be asked to share medical information if it could potentially skew a result.

As an employer, it’s your responsibility to ensure that any sensitive data is kept safe and that all privacy laws are respected.

Ensure that all applicants are treated equally and fairly

It’s important to treat all your candidates equally. Once you screen one candidate, all other candidates who’ve reached the same point in the hiring process should also not only be screened but screened based on the same criteria. Failing to treat all candidates by the same standards can open you up to charges of discrimination.

Having uniform policies in place not only ensures that all candidates are treated equally but can also help make the screening process more efficient.

Inform candidates if screening information has been held against them

If you deny employment, a volunteer position, or a rental home to a candidate based on their background check, you must inform them and give them the name, address, and phone number of the agency that provided the information.

Final thoughts

The right background check company will make your life easier by helping you qualify your candidates effectively and efficiently. Your candidates will be treated fairly, and you’ll have peace of mind.

If you’re still wondering how to find the right background screening service, contact us at EagleScreen today. We can walk you through what sets us apart and how we can save you time and money while giving you peace of mind.  

While every organization values the health and safety of its customers and staff and wants to be sure they’re hiring the most qualified people possible, healthcare companies have to have exceptionally high standards. After all, their patients’ lives are quite literally in the hands of their employees.

And it’s not just patient safety at stake. Healthcare employees may also have access to sensitive personal data, prescription drugs, and organizational funds. Bad hiring decisions can result in danger to other staff members as well as malpractice lawsuits, fraud, and government penalties levied against the organization itself.

Healthcare background checks protect your patients, staff, reputation, and accreditation, and play a vital role in maintaining the high standards of your organization. In this post, we’ll discuss why background checks are so important and how you can choose the right ones for your situation.

Why are healthcare background checks important?

While every company wants to keep its customers and staff safe, healthcare companies have the added responsibility of protecting patients who may be physically, mentally, or emotionally vulnerable. As such, they come under closer scrutiny and fall under more government regulations than companies in many other industries.

Federal law, specifically the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), requires background checks for “employees who provide direct care.” Healthcare organizations also need to be aware of the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE), a database managed by the Office of the Inspector General (OIG). The LEIE consists of healthcare providers who have been convicted of fraud, patient abuse or neglect, or other serious offenses. Organizations that hire someone on it may be subject to civil penalties and prevented from participating in federally funded programs such as Medicare.

States impose their own requirements. Most, but not all, states have laws requiring background checks for employees of home health agencies, for example.

When it comes to healthcare, background screenings aren’t a one-and-done process. Ongoing, regular screenings ensure that the people currently employed with your organization haven’t started using drugs or been convicted of a crime since you hired them and still hold the licenses necessary to practice in their area of medicine. Additionally, any organizations that bill Medicare or Medicaid are required to run ongoing checks to ensure that all employees (not just medical professionals) aren’t listed on the federal exclusion list.

What is included in a healthcare background check?

The following are some of the most common types of checks conducted on job candidates who are applying for healthcare-related positions. Depending on your candidate’s job duties, additional checks may be advisable.

SSN (social security number) trace

This service finds all names and addresses associated with a candidate’s social security number. This enables searches to be conducted for all names and in all jurisdictions that are relevant to a particular candidate.

National criminal search

This search will let you know if your candidate has been convicted of any crimes, such as assault or medical malpractice, that could pose potential risks for your patients or staff.

National sex offender registry search

It goes without saying that vulnerable patients and especially children need protection from sexual predators. This search will ensure that your candidate has no known history of sexual assault or abuse.

Professional licensing verification

Healthcare, maybe more than any other industry, relies on licensing as a means to assess an employee’s qualifications.  A license verification confirms that your candidate has a valid license (or licenses) for their position, field, and region and is eligible to work.

Education verification

Specific educational degrees or technical training are required for most clinical positions. This check verifies that your candidate attended and graduated from the institutions they claim, the dates they attended, their area of study, and the type of degree received.

Employment verification

This screening ensures that your candidate has the job experience they claim to have and will let you know if they were fired from a previous job for making a serious mistake.

Drug screening

Drug screening is vital in a work environment in which employees may need to make life-saving decisions or be responsible for a patient’s physical care or transportation. It’s also important as employees may have direct access to prescription drugs.

Federal exclusion search

This search ensures your candidate isn’t on the List of Excluded Individuals/Entities (LEIE), which consists of providers who have been convicted of fraud, patient abuse or neglect, or other serious offenses.

What do companies & hospitals look for?

It’s a competitive job market. A slow hiring process may result in your candidate being offered a position with another company, and a process that is difficult, demeaning, or inconvenient for a candidate may give them the wrong impression of your company overall.

That’s why it’s important to find a screening company that makes the process convenient for candidates and treats them with respect. The faster they can fill out their forms and submit their information, the sooner you can get the results you need to make your hiring decisions.

When selecting a background check provider, organizations look for one that can balance thorough, accurate reporting with timely turnaround.

How long does the process take?

The majority of background checks can be completed within 2–5 business days, although comprehensive healthcare background checks may take a little longer due to the need to verify a significant amount of data.

You can help expedite the process by communicating clearly with your candidate. Let them know that mistakes and omissions in their information can cause delays and that the sooner they sign their consent forms and submit their information, the sooner you’ll have the information you need to make a hiring decision.

It’s also helpful to work with a screening company that can integrate its background check workflow with your applicant tracking or human resource information system. This avoids unnecessary paperwork and duplicate forms that can slow things down.

How to run healthcare background checks for your company

The easiest way to ensure that you’re in compliance with state and federal regulations, running the correct checks for your job position, and getting accurate reports is to partner with a qualified screening company.

At EagleScreen, we make it easy for you. We’ll customize a package for your specific screening requirements, guide you through the complex regulatory landscape, integrate with your applicant tracking system, and provide you with detailed, accurate reports. Ready to get started? Contact us today.