Employment Background Checks: The Complete Guide

With the vast majority of employers using one or more types of employment background checks, it’s important to know how to run a background check for employment to help ensure the process for decision-making is both fair and compliant with the law. Here's what you should know.

An employment background check is the process of searching public records and databases, and accessing other sources, to gather and verify information about individuals. The information included in a background check will vary depending on the purpose of the screening, but can help you learn more about a candidate’s professional and personal history beyond their job application or resume. Conducting a background check for employment helps evaluate a candidate’s qualifications, make more informed hiring decisions, and mitigate risk. When hiring for regulated positions, it may be necessary to conduct a background check for employment to comply with federal, state, or local laws.

Employers run background checks for a number of reasons, including confirming candidate eligibility and qualifications, fostering customer and public trust, promoting workplace safety, and complying with laws and regulations. Conducting an employment background check is often a standard part of the hiring process. In fact, 95% of employers with at least one US location conduct one or more types of employee background checks. Here’s a closer look at the reasons why.

For some roles, certain education, training, experience, or credentials may be necessary to carry out the assigned duties proficiently. Background checks can help you determine whether candidates possess the qualifications necessary for success.

Conducting background checks may help employers maintain workplace safety by identifying elements of candidates’ backgrounds that are of concern. In addition, background checks can help protect both clients and the general public. 

Unethical behavior or criminal activity among employees can expose your organization to risk. Employee background checks can help give you a clearer picture of candidates’ history to help manage these risks.

Background checks may help foster trust between organizations and their communities. By conducting background screenings, you can make more informed decisions about who provides service to your customers and represents your organization.

Federal, state, and local laws may require background checks when hiring for certain positions. Additionally, certain industries or sensitive positions may require screenings, such as criminal background checks for employment. The following are several laws to consider when conducting background checks for employment:

The process of conducting a background check generally includes six steps: 

1. Create a background check policy
2. Maintain legal compliance
3. Choose a background check company
4. Communicate candidate rights
5. Select screening reports
6. Make hiring decisions

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to run a background check on someone for employment:

A background check policy provides a clear framework for searching a candidate’s background during the hiring process. It  helps ensure consistency and compliance with federal, state, and local laws. Your policy should clearly state the types of screenings conducted for each position, outline the proper procedures for performing them, and explain how the results will be used in making hiring decisions.

It’s best practice to implement background screenings across your entire organization. For example, employers shouldn’t choose a certain age group or ethnicity to undergo pre-employment background checks as this could be considered discriminatory under Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines. However, you could require specific screenings for all candidates being considered for certain roles, such as those who will drive a company vehicle or handle finances.

Federal, state, and local laws regulate employment background checks to ensure a fair hiring process for candidates. These background check laws can impact when and what screenings can be conducted and how the results may be used in hiring decisions. To help navigate compliance, employers often partner with employment background check companies, like Checkr. 

Regardless of how you choose to conduct background checks, employers are ultimately responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. These may include the federal FCRA, anti-discrimination laws, and state or local screening regulations, such as Ban the Box laws. 

Employers have many options to consider when selecting a background check company. The best background check service for your company will depend on your business needs, such as types of screening options, hiring volume, budget, and location. Additional considerations when comparing employee background check companies may include:

There are many types of background screenings that provide different insight into a candidate’s history. Based on your business needs and company background check policy, you’ll want to select the appropriate searches. 

The FCRA provides protections for candidates that cover what kind of information can be collected and reported as part of a background check for employment. The Summary of Rights document outlines other major rights under the FCRA, including the right to a copy of their background check results and the right to dispute inaccurate information.

When employers use a screening provider to conduct searches, you are required to disclose your intent to run a background check, obtain written authorization from the candidate, and follow the adverse action process if the results will affect your hiring decision.

Once you have reviewed the results, you can make a hiring decision based on your company’s background check policy. If a search returns any information that may negatively impact your hiring decision, you must follow the adverse action process outlined in the FCRA. The process is three steps:

The results of an employment background check will vary based on the types of screenings you elect to perform, but may include the following:

Many employers choose to partner with an accredited consumer reporting agency (CRA), like Checkr. CRAs provide a single point of contact for multiple background check searches, which streamlines the process for faster, accurate results. For example, 89% of Checkr's criminal record searches complete in one hour.

How far back an employment background check goes depends on your location, the candidate’s location, and the type of background screening you’re performing. In general, background checks for employment include seven years of criminal and court records, but federal and state employment laws may also impact the lookback period. 

The average turnaround time for background screenings is three to five business days when working with a CRA. However, some database screenings, such as national criminal record searches and sex offender registry checks, may be returned in minutes. With Checkr, 89% of all criminal searches complete in one hour.

The number of screenings, employer and candidate location, and how quickly you receive authorization from candidates can also impact the timing.

If you’re applying for a position, the background check process typically starts with receiving a notice of your prospective employer’s intent to perform a background screening. This notice should also provide you with A Summary of Your Rights document and request your written consent to move forward. 

With Checkr, you can check the status of your background check report(s) by logging into the Candidate Portal. Report statuses represent where the report is within the background check process and do not reflect any engagement or hiring decisions. Once the report is complete, you have the right to request a copy of the information included in your file.

If the employer decides to eliminate you from consideration for the role, they must inform you of that decision through the adverse action process. If you believe the information reported was inaccurate, you also have the right to file a dispute to correct the information and Checkr will review and reinvestigate the information.  

Yes, you can run an employment background check on yourself by purchasing a background check from a third-party provider, like Checkr, or by requesting and compiling the information on your own. Doing so can help you review what employers might see when performing a background screening so you know what to expect. In addition, ordering a personal background check gives you an opportunity to dispute any errors before inaccurate information reaches employers. 

With Checkr, the process for how to get a background check on yourself for employment is straightforward and only takes a few minutes as you can easily request and view your results online. This personal background check includes an SSN trace, national criminal search, global watchlist search, and sex offender registry search.

What can cause you to fail a background check for employment depends on the employer’s policies and the nature of the position. Generally, anything that might interfere with your ability to perform a job may be a concern for employers. For example, records of certain criminal offenses may exclude a person from working in specific roles due to federal, state, or local laws, or a suspended driver’s license might prohibit someone from being hired for jobs that require driving.

Note: As an organization, Checkr does not use pass or fail language with regard to background checks. However, we know that many people do use these terms and have questions about how to proceed when a background check requires extra consideration.

Checkr is committed to our mission of fair chance hiring and empowering employers to fairly assess their candidates' history. Checkr tools like Assess can help employers implement and scale fairer background screening adjudication processes.

For employers, running background checks can strengthen compliance efforts and help make confident hiring decisions. If you’re a job candidate, understanding the background check process and running a check on yourself can help you prepare for your job search.

Individuals and companies of all sizes trust Checkr for employment background checks. Our advanced platform makes it easy to manage the background check process by reducing time, human error, and potential bias for faster, fairer hiring. Plus, our built-in compliance workflows not only support fair hiring, but enable HR teams to optimize their talent pool. Whether you need to run five background checks or 500, Checkr screenings are easy to order with simple pricing. Get started today.

About the author

Hayley Harrison writes about a wide range of business topics and best practices, including background checks, candidate experience, and recruitment and retention. Her work includes educational articles, e-books, and blog posts.