It is surprising how often I hear people claim they are doing background checks by going online. They are not talking about databases, just googling someone’s name, and seeing what comes up.

The things is… criminal background records are kept in county courthouses.  They are not posted on websites. They might be reported to databases. They might be held by a state Department of Corrections. They are definitely held in the county courthouse where the felony or misdemeanor occured. The open cases and open warrants are also held in the courthouse. This is not information you can find online.

In the employment screening industry, we hire researchers nationwide to go into the county courthouses and retrieve records via the court clerk. If we could just go online and search a person’s name, we would!

If you are an employer and are doing your own criminal backgrounds by going online, or even by doing instant database searches, you are giving yourself a false sense of safety. You might find something, but you will never know what you did not find.  It is like trying to catch fish with a net. You might catch some, but you are missing most. Is that going to be good enough if you end up with a negligent hiring lawsuit? Or with an employee that continues to follow their pattern of theft or violence once employed with you?

Do it right. Invest the small amount of money it takes (it should be less than the employee’s first day of pay) and hire an employment screening firm that has been in business for a long time, has a good reputation, and can provide county court records. You won’t be sorry.