What Is A Felony Background Check

What practice a background check show? Considering background checks tin reveal highly sensitive information, both employers and job candidates should understand what is included in each blazon of background bank check and how that information can legally be used.

We respond the well-nigh frequently asked questions nigh what appears on dissimilar kinds of background checks, including employment background checks, criminal background checks, fingerprint background checks, and Level 2 background checks.

A quick scan of the background check landscape reveals that there are many unlike types of background checks. Each type of background check uncovers somewhat unlike personal background information. It's important for both employers and task candidates to understand what kind of data is included in each blazon of background bank check, and how that data can be used.

Data uncovered in employment groundwork checks is highly sensitive and discipline to strict privacy-protection regulations. The employ of background checks in connection with hiring decisions is also subject field to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Human action (FCRA) and requirements specified by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The sharing and retentiveness of this information also may be subject to additional state and local guidelines.

When conducting employment groundwork checks, it'southward important to select a provider that is an accredited FCRA-compliant consumer reporting bureau (CRA), such every bit GoodHire.

Illustration of GoodHires personal background check option

Many employers and task candidates want to know what information is included in a background bank check, so we've compiled answers to the following common questions:

Criminal History

Nearly all background checks include a criminal-history check, based on data supplied by the candidate, including their Social Security number. Criminal background checks will reveal felony and misdemeanor criminal convictions, any pending criminal cases, and any history of incarceration as an adult. Arrests pending prosecution may also exist reported. Arrests that did not lead to convictions may announced in some groundwork checks; GoodHire excludes them in its screenings to conform to EEOC guidelines.

Records of juvenile convictions and detention that have been sealed by a courtroom typically practice not appear in these searches, but all other criminal convictions may announced, unless they occurred in a state that forbids disclosure of convictions after a sure period of time. Disclosure of convictions more than 7 years old is forbidden in California, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Montana, New Hampshire, New York and Washington. Hawaii forbids disclosure of convictions after seven years for felonies and five years for misdemeanors [updated 9/21/2020]. (Acquire more about how far back a background bank check goes, or see your state'due south specific background check laws.)

Pre-Employment

Pre-employment background checks typically include criminal-background checks, plus verification of information on past employment, education, and professional licenses.

Depending on the nature of the job under consideration, employers may specify that pre-hiring screenings search candidates' driving records. Employers may also require applicants to submit to drug testing as function of the pre-employment screening process. Pre-employment drug screening is required for many jobs that involve operation of motor vehicles, hazardous or frail equipment, and/or in whatever role entailing responsibility for the rubber of the public, customers, or swain employees. Acquire more than in the Complete Guide to Background Checks.

State and federal laws limit some of what can exist reported on employment background checks:

If a candidate is under consideration for a job that pays less than $75,000 annually, information on civil judgments, regime sanctions, and disciplinary measures related to whatever professional licenseswill notappear in background cheque results.
Nevertheless, if the salary for an open position is $75,000 or more, that data may announced in your results, fifty-fifty if information technology's older than seven years.

GoodHire's background check platform makes it easy to order reports and review results.

Fingerprint

"Fingerprint background check" is something of a catch-all term. As its proper name indicates, it involves the apply of a candidate'due south fingerprints in addition to other personal information to locate historical information. The advantage of a fingerprint search is certainty that all records associated with a given set of prints vest to the individual in question.

The precise nature of a fingerprint search can vary, depending on the type of information requested past the employer and the databases used past the screening company. Typically, a fingerprint check involves using the FBI criminal-records database, but other, smaller Automated Fingerprint Identification Organization (AFIS) database systems may be searched instead of, or in add-on to, the FBI system.

FBI

Often used to screen candidates for jobs with federal government agencies and companies that work with and for them, an FBI-level background bank check uncovers any and every interaction a candidate may have had with law enforcement agencies that provide their criminal information to the FBI database. In addition to convictions, this may include arrests (even those that did not pb to indictment or conviction), traffic violations, and even parking tickets.

Applicants must submit to fingerprinting past a recognized law enforcement agency, and their prints are checked against the FBI's Integrated Automatic Fingerprint Identification Arrangement (IAFIS), a vast computerized repository of fingerprints compiled by law enforcement agencies, immigration officials, and fifty-fifty by employment screenings. The IACIS database links personal data to fingerprints nerveless in both criminal and non-criminal matters.

Fingerprints are also checked against the National Law-breaking Information Middle (NCIC) database, a huge compilation of criminal-history information and data on wanted criminals; and against databases of sexual practice offenders and terrorists.

FBI background checks have come under some scrutiny in recent years, on grounds that bureau databases are non always complete, and considering the records they contain may create disparate impacts in instances involving minority job applicants.

Passing an FBI groundwork check is not the aforementioned as obtaining a security clearance. A groundwork check may exist a first step in the process, but security clearance typically involves a much more all-encompassing inquiry, including interviews with the subject and others who know him or her well.

What does a Level 2 background cheque include?

A Level 2 background check is a specialized blazon of fingerprint groundwork bank check typically performed on candidates for jobs that involve working with vulnerable persons, such every bit children, people with disabilities, and seniors. Level 2 checks are also often required for volunteer positions at schools, daycares, and senior centers as well every bit for paid personnel. They are as well frequently required for adults seeking to adopt or become foster parents.

A Level 2 background screen checks applicants against databases of information on arrests, convictions, and incarceration related to violent behavior and crimes against children and other vulnerable persons. A Level 2 cheque volition even uncover relevant records that have been sealed by courts, including juvenile convictions and detention.

Table shows what shows up on different types of background checks

More Background Cheque Result FAQs

Do traffic tickets testify up on a background check?

It depends. Many CRAs report traffic infractions as part of the background check. Nonetheless, GoodHire does not unless an employer specifically requests a check on your driving record (as they might for jobs that require utilize of motor vehicles). If they do, so speeding tickets and other driving infractions volition appear.

Do DUIs bear witness up on a background check?

Driving nether the influence (DUI) is a criminal offense and will exist reported on a criminal background check. If a pre-employment background screening includes a driving tape check or motor vehicle record check (MVR), a DUI conviction is probable to appear there as well.

To learn more nigh DUIs and background checks, see DUIs & Background Checks: What It Means For Employment.

Do misdemeanors bear witness up on a background check?

A criminal background bank check can include misdemeanor criminal convictions, besides every bit whatsoever pending cases. Misdemeanors are less serious offenses which are typically subject area to a potential prison house sentence betwixt 15 days and one twelvemonth in a local prison, or a sentence that doesn't include any jail fourth dimension only may include fines, probation and/or community service. Examples of misdemeanors include vandalism, trespassing, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct.

Practise arrests show upward on a background check?

Arrests that did not lead to convictions may appear in some criminal groundwork checks as long as the filing date of the instance is inside the concluding seven years, as allowed by federal and state law. However, GoodHire excludes them in its screenings to conform to Equal Employment Opportunity Committee (EEOC) guidelines.

Do criminal convictions older than seven years show up on a groundwork check?

In most states they practise. Some states, though, restrict the release of records that are more than than 7, or in some cases x, years in the by. Some states as well have restrictions based on the amount of salary the candidate will earn. Kansas, for instance, restricts the release of records more than seven years one-time unless the candidate'due south salary will be $20,000 or more annually.

Do warrants show upwards on a background check?

Open up arrest warrants (issued when law enforcement gives evidence that a doubtable has committed a crime) and bench warrants (issued for failure to appear for a scheduled courtroom proceeding) generally exercise not announced every bit records in background checks. However, in one case a warrant has been executed, information technology becomes part of the criminal tape, and its beingness may be reflected in a criminal background check.

Do dismissed charges evidence up on a groundwork check?

Cases resulting in dismissal may appear in some criminal background checks. Sometimes, even if the court has sealed instance records, the arrest that led to the example may appear in a criminal background search. Federal EEOC guidelines prevent turning down task candidates on the sole basis of arrests that don't pb to conviction. GoodHire excludes dismissed charges from its groundwork check results.

Exercise pending charges testify upwards on a groundwork check?

If a criminal background cheque is requested, pending charges can show up. Nonetheless, there are states that prohibit pending charges from showing up on background checks. Kentucky prohibits CRAs from reporting pending charges. This applies for all records that come from Kentucky, regardless of where the employer or candidate are located. In Michigan, employers cannot consider pending misdemeanors – merely pending felonies.

Do restraining orders prove up on a groundwork cheque?

A restraining club (known equally an gild protection in some states) is considered a ceremonious matter. It by and large will not appear in a criminal groundwork check, unless included as a footnote in the sentencing portion of a criminal tape, simply it may appear in public information databases and websites used by some pre-employment screeners. Violations of these orders are criminal matters, yet, and arrests and court cases surrounding them volition appear in criminal groundwork checks.

Do bankruptcies prove up on a background check?

Bankruptcies practise not appear in results of criminal background checks, and nether the Off-white Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), defalcation filings cannot exist reported in pre-employment screenings once they are 10 years old. Because they are a thing of public record, bankruptcies are more often than not easy to discover. Filings more than 10 years old may announced in not-FCRA compliant background checks.

Do expunged or sealed records show up on a background check?

When a court expunges a confidence or trial record, the case files are sealed off from public access, and the convicted party or accused does not take to disclose the example when asked about their criminal history. Sealed cases are not eligible for disclosure in nigh pre-employment background checks. If there is a meaning time filibuster between the resolution of a case and the decision to expunge information technology, its records may continue to announced in criminal-background database searches until records are updated to reverberate the expungement. The beingness of expunged convictions that involve mistreatment of children or other vulnerable individuals may be legally reported in Level 2 background checks, though unsealing the details of those records typically requires a court lodge.

What will show up on your background bank check?

The contents of groundwork check reports tin can vary considerably, depending on the nature of information required past the employer, and the number and quality of the data resources used by the screening company. The best way to ensure a check complies with federal and local regulations is to work with an FCRA-compliant groundwork check provider, such as GoodHire. And the best way to see what will appear on your FCRA-compliant background check is to run i on yourself.

Disclaimer

The resource provided hither are for educational purposes only and exercise not found legal advice. We advise you to consult your own counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.

Nigh the Author

Jim Akin is a Connecticut-based freelance writer and editor with experience in employee relations, media relations, and social-media outreach. He has produced content and managed internal communications, business organization-to-business organization outreach, and consumer-focused campaigns for clients including Experian, VantageScore Solutions, Pitney Bowes, Medtronic, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola.