Who Regulates Background Checks

All companies performing background checks on behalf of another business are subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which establishes rules regarding what information that screeners are required to provide to the people they are checking.

Many states also have their own laws regulating companies that provide criminal background checks. In Arizona, a person must be licensed as a private investigator through the Arizona Department of Public Safety or be licensed as an employee of a private investigator to conduct such work.

Check Your Credit Before the Boss Does

It's no longer enough to go to a job interview with your CV. A growing number of employers are checking a candidate's credit history before making an offer.

While your credit history may not be the determining factor, employers use it to fill out the picture for many candidates - and not just in the finance field.

OSBI Doesn't Expect Great Impact From Closure of Court Records

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation doesn't expect a large increase in requests for background checks because of proposed rules taking some court records off the Internet.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court issued rules earlier this month that would remove several records from the Internet and require documents with personal identifying information to be redacted or filed under seal.

Ice Cream Vendors Embrace Background Checks

Details of Rapid City's proposed background-check requirement for ice cream vendors are still being hashed out, but truck operators say they won't have a problem with the new rule if it is implemented. The proposed ordinance would require criminal background checks before an ice cream vendor could get a peddler's license to operate on city streets.

Austin Educator Background Checks Turn up 15 Felonies, 241 Misdemeanors

The Austin school district has fingerprinted about two-thirds of its approximately 6,600 certified educators, and criminal histories have popped up for 256 employees after a search of a national crime database.

Checks as of Feb. 20 found that 15 educators had felony criminal records, while the other 241 had misdemeanor criminal records, according to information released under the Texas Public Information Act.

Facebook a RiskyTool for Background Checks, Lawyers Warn

Employers’ growing use of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace to scrutinize job applicants could lead to charges of employment discrimination and litigation, experts warn.

Observers say that without adequate policies in place, employers may be leaving themselves vulnerable to charges that they are using the data available on the Web sites to cull minorities, homosexuals and other applicants who are members of protected classes.

Highlands Never did Background Check on Aide

The former special education teacher's aide facing narcotics and corruption of minors charges was given neither a required drug test nor a required criminal background check before Highlands School District hired her last September, according to the district's superintendent.