Pre-hire background checks for Chandler employers, done properly

Chandler small business desk with a job application, planning a pre-hire background check

Chandler is a city of employers. The Price Corridor alone holds more than 40,000 jobs by the city's count, and around the big names is a long list of smaller companies: suppliers, engineering shops, clinics, property managers, family businesses. Many of them eventually hire someone who will handle money, customer data, keys to homes, or access to a secure site, and want to know more about that person than a résumé says.

That is a reasonable thing to want. It is also an area with real legal rules, and getting them wrong exposes the business more than the hire ever would.

A background check is a regulated product

When an employer uses a "consumer report" to make a hiring decision, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act applies. A consumer report is broadly any report from a consumer reporting agency about a person's character, general reputation, personal characteristics or mode of living that is used for employment and similar purposes. A third party that regularly assembles that kind of information for others can be a consumer reporting agency.

Under 15 U.S.C. 1681b, before an employer gets a consumer report for employment purposes:

the employer must give the applicant a clear and conspicuous written disclosure, in a document that consists solely of that disclosure, that a report may be obtained
the applicant must authorize it in writing

And before taking adverse action based on the report, such as withdrawing an offer, the employer must give the applicant a copy of the report and a description of their rights.

That applies whether you use a national screening company or hire a local private investigator to do the work. A private investigator who regularly provides reports for employment decisions may themselves be covered by the Act. Ask how they handle it, and talk to an employment lawyer about your own forms.

There is also a stricter category, the investigative consumer report, which includes information from personal interviews with neighbors, friends or associates. It carries additional notice requirements.

Where a private investigator adds something

National screening services are fast and cheap for the standard package: identity, criminal records from certain databases, sometimes employment and education verification. For many roles that is enough.

A private investigator, licensed in Arizona by the Department of Public Safety, comes in when the role justifies a closer look.

County courthouse records

Database criminal checks can miss cases, or report them incompletely. A private investigator can check the actual court records in the counties and states where the person lived.

Civil litigation

Lawsuits, judgments and restraining orders are not always in a standard screen, and for some roles they matter.

Verifying credentials properly

Calling the university registrar, the former employer's HR department, or the licensing board directly, rather than relying on a phone number on the résumé.

Reference interviews

Speaking with former supervisors and colleagues in a structured way. This is where the investigative consumer report rules come in.

Executive and sensitive hires

For a senior hire or someone with access to trade secrets, a fuller background investigation, including business affiliations and past companies, can be worth the cost.

Things to leave out

Not everything you can find is something you should use. Federal and state anti-discrimination laws limit how employers can use certain information, and some sources are simply off limits. A licensed private investigator will not pull a credit report without a permissible purpose and the right consent, will not get medical records, and will not hack social media accounts. Ask what they will and will not look at before you sign anything.

Fingerprint clearance cards

Some Arizona jobs require a fingerprint clearance card issued by DPS after a criminal history review. DPS lets employers check a card's status online, and says employers cannot rely on a photocopy or the card itself as proof that it is valid. If the role needs a card, check it directly. A private investigator is not a substitute for that requirement.

If you are the applicant

If a Chandler employer tells you it wants to run a background check, the same federal rules protect you. You should get a separate written disclosure, and the check should not happen without your written authorization. If the employer is about to withdraw an offer because of what the report says, it has to give you a copy of the report and a description of your rights first. Read it. Reports can mix up people with similar names, and you can raise an error before a final decision is made. For anything beyond that, an employment lawyer or the agency that prepared the report is the place to start.

Making a plan

A sensible approach for a Chandler small business:

Decide which roles need more than a standard screen, and write that down so you apply it consistently.
Get your FCRA disclosure and authorization forms reviewed by an employment lawyer.
Use a screening company for routine hires.
Bring in a private investigator for the roles that justify it, and agree on the scope in writing.

You can browse private investigators in Chandler. Every private investigator listed in Arizona on Served & Found is a member of the Arizona Association of Licensed Private Investigators (AALPI), and our guide on how to verify a private investigator license shows how to confirm one with DPS. If your concern is a current employee rather than a new one, see our note on internal theft and data leaks in Chandler. The Chandler page has more.

This is general information, not legal advice. The cheapest fix in this area is a properly drafted authorization form, signed before the check starts.

See the board: everyone in Chandler.