Why Your Business Needs to do a State Background Check?
While many people do not know what a state background check is, let alone the difference between one and a federal check, there are a plethora of reasons to arm yourself with the following list of summarized points. Even if you do not anticipate needing a background check for all your employees, you may want to consider having a state background check for some.
To begin, let us summarize the basic concept surrounding a background check, one that, unfortunately, is not well understood by most people.
When one refers to an official “background check,” they are essentially referring to any database of records on individual persons. What category of background check one is referring to is often determined by the geographical range with which these databases cover. A state background check, for example, would encompass individual criminal records taken at the county court level.
In order to better understand what a state background check is, we should now talk a bit about what it is not. Many background checking services would lead you to believe that their methods are as thorough as possible. This is patently false as they are often running a local background check instead of a state or federal level check, where the most comprehensive records are kept.
State vs. Federal vs. Federal Bureau of Investigation?
Many also believe state background checks use FBI data. This is yet another myth. Federal Bureau of Investigation data is only legally accessible by authorized private entities, sanctioned by the government or other law enforcement agencies. Private employers are not allowed access to this information for the purpose of employment screening.
Many people also ask what the difference is between a state background check and a federal background check. Very simply, the difference exists in the fact that the former finds database entries using court records at the state level. On the other hand, the latter uses files of individuals tried in federal courts.