Blog by Danny Davila, Executive Director of GroupOne Background Screening

The term “background check” has increased its search quota in Google over the last couple of weeks due to the tragic shooting incident in Florida. As a licensed consumer reporting agency, and qualified and credentialed to issue validated background checks, GroupOne would like to clarify some services issued by background check providers.

The term “background check” may be interpreted differently by the person or institution requesting the information. For example, GroupOne provides background reports to human resource representatives for pre-employment and post-employment purposes. The reports provided to clients for their evaluation has an impact on hiring decisions made by human resource departments. The reports issued for the evaluation on a person who is trying to rent an apartment or a home is called tenant screening. The news refers to background checks when presenting a story about gun control laws and the type of check conducted prior to purchasing a gun.

The information included in the background report is private information and should only be managed on your behalf by a company that is experienced, licensed and proven to have the sources to accurately retrieve information to go into your background report. For example, there is no single central repository of all criminal conviction information, contrary to what a casual observer might think. Background check companies must coordinate the retrieval of either federal, state, county or city criminal records from multiple sources before a clean and accurate report can be produced.

The person who requests a background report, also known as a consumer, is protected by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Therefore, a background reporting company must obtain consent and approval from the consumer to obtain information for the report. After the information is received, the consumer is entitled to dispute the information in the report as part of the Pre- and Adverse Action Process. A consumer must be aware of the rights at the time the request for the background report is introduced as a condition of employment, purchase or lease.

Sources for a consumer and an employer to learn about the basic principles of background report screening can receive additional clarity from the following link: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcrajump.shtm.

Please do not hesitate to contact us at GroupOne should you have any questions.