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Compliance FAQs
- 14 Feb 2022
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Contents
Compliance FAQs
- Updated on 14 Feb 2022
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Article Summary
Disclaimer: The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. If you have questions regarding your background check policy or a particular record, we advise you to consult legal counsel.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you offer adverse action? If so, what is the process?
GoodHire’s platform has an integrated adverse action workflow, available free of charge for all employers. Please note that this workflow is currently only available if your candidate has an email address. For more information about the adverse action process, check out our Adverse Action Notice Requirements page
Can I just tell you that I received the candidate's consent without submitting a form?
In most cases, you are not required to submit a consent form in order to complete a background check. However, you will be required to certify that you’ve collected compliant consent from the candidate, and GoodHire may request proof of consent for auditing purposes. For certain screening services, such as employment and education verifications, you may be required to upload a signed consent form.
How long are you allowed to report bankruptcies?
According to the FCRA, bankruptcies may be reported for up to ten years from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication.
Do I have to let the candidate know I am running the background check?
Under the FCRA, candidates are required to provide written authorization to an employer in order for a background check to be run. Employers also have to disclose the nature of the background check report and provide applicants with a summary of their rights under the FCRA. Without this disclosure and authorization, an employer can not legally run a background check on the candidate. By obtaining consent, employers can officially certify that they have:
- Notified candidates about the details of the background screening process.
- Informed candidates about their legal rights in case of an adverse action.
- Made efforts to ensure candidate privacy and prevent discrimination.
How do I know that you are being compliant and I am not going to get in trouble for a background check that I run on a candidate?
GoodHire has a team of compliance experts with extensive knowledge and experience in the employment screening space. These experts stay on top of changing legal requirements to make it easier for you to compliantly screen your candidates! Additionally, GoodHire is accredited by the Professional Background Screening Association, which means we have met rigorous standards regarding legal compliance, information security, and general business practices.
What forms do you provide to the candidate when they are filling out their information and giving consent?
When you elect to use GoodHire’s electronic consent process to obtain candidate consent, we provide the candidate with FCRA-compliant disclosure and authorization forms. For cases when the job, candidate, or employer is located in California, we also provide an ICRAA-compliant disclosure to the candidate. For screening services requiring additional consent (such as drug screenings or motor vehicle record checks), we also secure this consent separately on your behalf. However, you may still need to provide certain forms or notices to your candidates, depending on the particular checks you order (for example, employment credit checks require that the employer provide the reason for procuring credit history). We recommend consulting with experienced counsel to ensure that your forms and notices are compliant. You can view GoodHire’s template consent forms here.
What are Comments for Context?
At GoodHire, we believe that candidates should have a chance to tell their own stories, which is why we built Comments for Context. Comments for Context is a unique feature of the GoodHire candidate experience that allows candidates to comment directly on particular records or components of their background check reports. Candidates can use Comments for Context to provide employers with additional information to explain the circumstances surrounding their record or provide evidence of rehabilitation. Employers may also request comments from candidates if they would like more information about a particular offense or to aid them in conducting an individualized assessment, which is encouraged by the EEOC and required in some jurisdictions.
Do you follow Ban-the-Box laws?
It’s important to note that Ban the Box laws apply to employers, not employment screeners. But don’t fear! Where applicable, Goodhire has incorporated Ban-the-Box requirements into its workflows. Depending on the location of the employer, candidate, and job, GoodHire’s platform will automatically apply relevant laws. For example, some Ban-the-Box laws, such as New York’s, require specific forms for the Adverse Action process. If you initiate adverse action for a candidate based in New York, or you’re a New York-based employer, these forms will be integrated into your adverse action workflow. However, please note that Ban-the-Box laws vary based on jurisdiction, and some requirements may apply to you as an employer before you initiate the background screening process. For more information, see our Ban the Box Guide. Be sure to consult with your legal counsel to ensure your hiring process is legally compliant in your jurisdiction.
Can I pay to look further back into a candidate's criminal history? What if the position is a high-paying, executive role?
Under the federal FCRA, criminal convictions can be reported indefinitely, regardless of the age of the offense. However, some states limit reporting to 7 years (CA, KS, MD, MA, MT, NH, NM, NY, HI, and WA). Certain states, such as Kansas, Maryland, Washington, and New Hampshire, make exceptions to this 7 year limit when candidates are expected to earn more than $20,000 per year. New York also makes an exception when candidates are expected to earn more than $25,000 per year. For civil record checks, the typical seven year limit may be extended to ten years if a candidate is expected to earn more than $75,000 per year, as long as the employer, candidate, and job location are not located in CA, NM, MA, or MT. Please note due to the ever-growing trend of salary history bans, and sensitivity around prospective salaries, GoodHire does not currently make exceptions to the 7 year state reporting rules above for criminal records, regardless of salary.
What are the states in which a candidate cannot pay for a background check and corresponding laws?
Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, and Vermont explicitly prohibit employers from passing the costs of a background check on to the prospective employees, with certain exceptions. We recommend you review our Background Check Laws by State page for full details.
If I need to run a background check on one of my current employees, do I need a new consent form each time?
If you use Goodhire’s consent forms to conduct your initial background check on a candidate, you’re already covered for additional checks once that candidate becomes your employee. If you’re using your own consent forms, they must authorize you to conduct screens throughout the course of employment.
What happens if laws change, will GoodHire keep me compliant?
GoodHire has a team of compliance experts with extensive knowledge and experience in the employment screening space. These experts keep you apprised of changing legal requirements!
What is the consent form and how do I fill it out?
In order to run an employment background check, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that employers obtain written authorization from the job candidate or employee before they’re screened.
By obtaining consent, employers can officially certify that they have:
- Notified candidates about the details of the background screening process
- Informed candidates about their legal rights in case of an adverse action
- Taken steps to ensure candidate privacy and prevent discrimination
GoodHire’s process is fully FCRA-compliant. After you provide your candidate’s email address and legal name, we will send the candidate FCRA-compliant disclosure and authorization forms. Our consent process is electronic and works on all devices, including smartphones and tablets and has been thoroughly vetted by GoodHire’s legal team. Please note that you may still need to provide certain forms or notices to your candidates, depending on the particular checks you order (for example, employment credit checks require that the employer provide the reason for procuring credit history). We recommend consulting with experienced counsel to ensure that your forms and notices are compliant.
If you already have consent from your candidate, in most cases you will not be required to submit the consent form to GoodHire in order to complete a background check. However, you will be required to certify that you’ve collected compliant consent from the candidate, and GoodHire may request proof of consent for auditing purposes. For certain checks, such as employment and education verifications, you may be required to upload a signed consent form.
Why is consent required before running a background check?
In order to run a background check, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires that employers obtain written authorization from the job candidate or employee before they can be screened. Click here for a sample consent form.
By obtaining consent, employers can officially certify that they have:
- Notified candidates about the details of the background screening process
- Informed candidates about their legal rights in case of an adverse action
- Made efforts to ensure candidate privacy and prevent discrimination
How do I obtain my employee's consent using GoodHire?
GoodHire’s FCRA-compliant, e-consent is the quickest, most efficient way to obtain the appropriate authorization for a background check. To use e-consent, just provide your candidate’s email address and we will provide the candidate with FCRA-compliant disclosure and authorization forms. Candidates receive a link to complete the consent form online, where they can read the fine print and sign the document digitally. The e-consent form works on all devices, including smartphones and tablets and has been thoroughly vetted by GoodHire’s legal team.
If you already have consent from your candidate, in most cases you will not be required to submit the consent form to GoodHire in order to complete a background check. However, you will be required to certify that you’ve collected compliant consent from the candidate, and GoodHire may request proof of consent for auditing purposes. For certain checks, such as employment and education verifications, you may be required to upload a signed consent form.
Can I download an FCRA-compliant consent form?
GoodHire offers editable PDF template content forms for employees/job candidates, contractors, and volunteers. We also include “A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act” and other relevant legal disclosures to the candidates in the documents.
Do I need to print out any forms and give them to the candidate?
If you decided to obtain consent for your background check through GoodHire, we'll send required federal and state specific disclosures and forms to the candidate through our easy-to-use website. Please note that you may still need to provide certain forms or notices to your candidates, depending on the particular checks you order (for example, employment credit checks require that the employer provide the reason for procuring credit history). We recommend consulting with experienced counsel to ensure that your forms and notices are compliant.
What records does GoodHire report?
Criminal Records:
GoodHire only reports pending cases and convictions in accordance with the 2012 EEOC Guidance on the Use of Criminal Records in Hiring. This means that GoodHire does not report arrests not leading to convictions.
GoodHire treats the following as non-convictions:
- Dismissed cases
- Not guilty verdicts
- Successfully completed deferral and diversion cases, including withhold of adjudication and probation before judgement.
Depending on your jurisdiction and/or the location of your candidate, criminal record reporting may also be limited by state laws. Certain states limit reporting of criminal records to convictions that occurred within the last 7 years.
GoodHire only reports records that we consider to be complete. This means that records must contain the name of the offense, the disposition, and the disposition date (or next court date, for a pending case).
GoodHire does not report expunged records.
All Other Records:
The federal Fair Credit Report Act prohibits GoodHire from reporting any adverse information about candidates (except for criminal convictions, which may be reported indefinitely, and bankruptcies, which may be reported for ten years) that is older than 7 years.
If you order checks that search for non-criminal records such as civil suits, we will exclude adverse information on these reports that is older than 7 years, unless you order a ten year civil search and certify that the salary of the employee is reasonably expected to be at least $75,000. Bankruptcies will always be reported unless they are older than ten years.
Do employees have to sign a new consent form every month if I use your Ongoing Alerts service?
GoodHire's consent form covers ongoing background checks. If you use your own consent form, our Ongoing Alerts process automatically asks each employee you enroll to provide their consent electronically.
How long does a dispute take?
Federal law gives us 30 days to process a dispute, and in some cases this may be extended to 45 days. We are typically able to process disputes faster than the 30 day timeline afforded by the law.
Background check laws are complex and may depend on your jurisdiction. For specific compliance questions regarding your hiring process, we recommend consulting with your legal counsel.
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