The National Criminal File has become a very valuable source for companies to use for pre employment criminal checks.
Criminal records of 50 states are included in the National Criminal File making it one of the richest sources of information that an employer or a pre employment screening service can tap into for job screening.
There are several different types of records available in the NCF that can help in job screening. More than 133 million files are located in the database. The criminal records available on the database are a way by which an employer can search for any criminal records of a potential applicant.
The records maintained on the website include arrest records, criminal court records, local, state or federal records and corrections records or prison records.
Employers deciding to use the records at the National Criminal File for job screening should be aware of the laws and regulations governing the use of criminal records for hiring processes.
In California, criminal histories or "rap sheets" compiled by law enforcement agencies are not public record. Therefore, individuals cannot use these records as part of the job screening process. In addition, employers also can't use all the information from drug testing reports for job screening in California. Some states such as California also do not allow an employer to inquire about a marijuana conviction that is more than two years old.
An employer conducting a criminal background check also is compelled under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) to give the applicant a copy of the report, a summary of their rights under the law, and an "adverse action letter."
Under FCRA, an applicant has the right to dispute the accuracy of the information. If this happens, the employer needs to run background checks again to verify the information.
Criminal checks and personal background checks are becoming a bigger part of the job hiring process. The reason for this is that research has shown that it costs a company more to recruit an unsuitable candidate then to run pre employment screenings to find a suitable candidate.
