After some consideration, your organization has decided to extend your background check programs. You’d like to screen new hires AND your existing staff. So, what background checks can you run on current employees?

Potential Background Checks for Current Employees

Although pre-employment screening is more common, companies can conduct background checks on current employees too. The process and types of screening are similar and may consist of:

• Criminal Record Searches

  Criminal record searches uncover felonies, misdemeanors and possibly infractions. You’ll be able to find out if your employees have committed any crimes ranging from burglary to trespassing. Criminal record searches can be conducted at the federal, national, state and/or county level. National criminal background checks provide a helpful overview, but they could miss cases at the federal or county levels. Therefore, for the most accurate and up-to-date information, you may wish to run a combination of these searches.

• Sex Offender Registry Searches

  Sex offender register searches let you know if employees are convicted sex offenders. Since each state keeps its own registry, you’ll need to scan across states. It’s possible for a convicted offender to move to a new area and fail to re-register. As a result, they could show up on the Pennsylvania list but not the New York list.

• Motor Vehicle Record Searches

  Motor vehicle record searches or MVRs disclose civil violations, like speeding tickets, as well as criminal charges like DWIs. You may use MVRs to keep track of your employees. For example, a person who suddenly receives three speeding tickets could be struggling with other problems. Also, some employees regularly drive and/or operate company vehicles as part of their job. In these situations, regular MVRs are either highly recommended or legally required. For instance, you wouldn’t want a bus driver working with a suspended license.

• Credit Reports

  As with MVRs, credit reports can provide valuable insights about your employees. Is this person reliable, honest and responsible? And once again, running a credit report may be recommended or required. This especially holds true for workers who have access to company or customer financial accounts.

• Civil Record Searches

  Whereas criminal record searches uncover crimes against the state civil records searches show wrongdoings against individuals or parties. Civil background checks may reveal car accidents, lawsuits, evictions, bankruptcies and family law matters such as divorce and child support. This type of information can be invaluable for businesses. After all, if your CFO recently filed for divorce and then bankruptcy, that’s something you’ll want to know.

• Professional License Verification

  Many positions have federal or state licensing or certification requirements. These jobs include doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, financial professionals, land surveyors, building contractors, plumbers, electricians, cosmetologists, counselors and more. If your industry requires certification, you’ll want to make sure your employees have the exact qualifications they claim to have.

• Academic Verification

  Academic verification confirms a person’s education. Did they truly receive degrees from the institutions on their application? And unfortunately, people aren’t always 100% honest. In fact, here’s a list of 17 successful executives who lied on their resumes.

• Employment Verification

  Like academic verification, employment verification confirms a person’s employment history. This is important if you want to make sure someone has the correct skills and experience for the job. Have they done the things they’ve said they done?

• Drug Testing

  Federal employers and safety-sensitive industries tend to have the strictest drug testing regulations. Companies may screen for commonly misused drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, opioids, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, barbiturates and/or phencyclidine (PCP). Yet, with the recent legalization of medical and recreational marijuana in several states, many businesses have dropped the marijuana panel.

Reasons to Background Check Current Employees

Of course, you’re not pre-screening current employees. They already work for your organization. So, why background check them now? In most cases, background screening for current employees falls into four categories.

• Catch-Up Screening

  Over time, policies can change. Schools, colleges and universities are good example of this. Many places had minimal screening standards in place. Yet, with multiple child sex abuse scandals in the news, they quickly realized more rigorous background checks were needed. However, it didn’t make sense to apply these policies ONLY to new hires. Thus, institutions across the U.S. began to ask anyone currently working for their organization to undergo retroactive or catch-up screenings.

• Ongoing or Continuous Monitoring

  When an employee works for your business for ten, twenty or thirty years, lots of things can change. And it’s surprisingly easy to cover up a divorce, a bankruptcy or even a short prison sentence. Ongoing or continuous monitoring helps alert you to potential problems before they turn into a crisis. This screening could take place on a regular basis or even in real-time. Criminal and driver record monitoring along with random drug testing are the most commonly used.

• Reassignments/Promotions

  Successful employees often are reassigned or promoted to roles with more responsibilities. And while you’ll want to applaud their efforts, this is a smart time to rescreen too. For instance, let’s say you’ve invited an entry-level worker to move up to a management position. Rather than assuming their original, basic pre-employment background check is good enough, you probably should consider more rigorous screening. Depending on the role, you may add on a credit check, professional license verification and/or academic verification.

• Post-Accident/Reasonable Suspicion

  After a workplace accident or mishap, many companies will automatically rescreen any employees involved. This usually consists of a drug test, a motor vehicle record search (if someone was driving) and/or a professional license verification. Similarly, an employer could conduct a reasonable suspicion check if they believe something is amiss.

Does Your Organization Need to Run Background Checks in Buffalo, NY?

Metrodata Services is here for you! We offer a full range of background check services for both new hires and current employees. And this includes criminal record and driver record monitoring. Protect your company with our comprehensive and customizable screening options. Explore all the possibilities today!