As mentioned in the introduction, the process of hiring occurs in several stages. Different types and levels of background checks are appropriate for different stages of the process. Circumscribing a definite policy for background check procedures can save both time and money for the small business.
Many employers only conduct the first and not the final stages of the background check process. A recent major controversy involved a church employee in Texas who molested several children during a church sleepover; he had been placed in a supervisory role. The person who committed those acts had three felony and five misdemeanor convictions. While none of those convictions was specifically for child molestation or other sex crimes, the parents who sued the church argued—successfully—that the church had been negligent in not performing a background check on the offender. The church lost a large judgment.
Obviously, not all applicants need to have any background checks performed on them at all; usually, the majority of those who submit resumes will not even be considered for the position. The first time to think about background checks is when those half dozen or so resumes are pulled out of the stack. This would be a good time to perform a simple reference check, such as former employers, residence, and possibly educational history. Note here, as in further along in the process, that all searches of private (non-public) information must be done only with expressed written consent on the part of the applicant; most employment applications contain such permissions, along with a signature space, but resumes usually do not. The supplying of personal information by the applicant does not entitle the prospective employer to verify that personal information unless the abovementioned expressed written consent is given. This is why employers practicing due diligence ask candidates to fill out consent forms before conducting any checks.
The second stage, once the consent forms have been obtained and searches of basic information have been done, is to do job-specific background checks. Note that this is not confined to criminal history, and in fact, such searches should be confined to the last stage of the process. Rather, at a point roughly commensurate with the in-person interview, the candidate’s qualifications should be scrutinized. Licenses, certifications, and educational history should be verified. This is when a credit check should be done, if appropriate, and a driving history obtained, if appropriate.
The final stage should only occur after a tentative hiring decision has been made and a job offer (contingent on a criminal background check) has been tendered. As the most involved and therefore the most expensive stage of the employee vetting process, a criminal background history check should only be done once the applicant has passed all other screening and the decision to hire him has been made.
Ordering Your First Employee Background Check 