Criminal Background Check FAQs

WHAT IS A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND CHECK?

At its simplest, a criminal history check (also referred to as a criminal background check) is the foundational element of a pre-employment screening program. Understanding a candidate's past—including criminal history—is an essential input to the hiring process. A thorough background check, including a criminal history check, is an important contributor to post-offer decision-making. (It's also worth noting that in many states and localities, the criminal history check cannot be performed unless a conditional offer of employment has been made.
The most common background check consists of criminal history searches in counties where a candidate has lived in the past 7 years. These county searches are often supplemented with a nationwide criminal history database search, which provides a quick, affordable method to search for criminal conviction information that may have occurred in jurisdictions outside the candidate's address history.
NOTE: Any criminal convictions located in the nationwide database with identifiers that closely match the candidate's information will prompt the addition of "primary source" county searches to the background check order. This is necessary for validation purposes (we're not just needlessly adding additional costs). The scope of a criminal background check can be adjusted based on the client's requirements, including the expansion of the address history from 7 to 10 years; the inclusion of address history for locations where a candidate has worked or attended school; and the addition of searches, such as federal criminal, sex offender database, and/or sanction searches.
Based on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and to the extent permitted by applicable state/local laws (as well as client-specific requirements), pending cases can be included in a background check report.


What is FCRA compliance?

FCRA stands for Fair Credit Reporting Act. Enacted in 1970, this federal legislation was initially designed to protect consumers who needed to correct inaccuracies on their credit reports. In the mid-90s, the scope expanded to include other types of consumer reports, such as background checks. Your background checks MUST be FCRA compliant or else you'll run afoul of federal law, which can be equal parts problematic and costly (and this is especially true when it comes to the adverse action process). But here's the thing: you can't just worry about federal law. State and local jurisdictions also have legislation governing consumer reports, such as background checks. So whenever a background check is conducted, you need to consider compliance from three varying jurisdictional levels: federal, state, and local

Employment Drug Testing FAQs

When it comes to drug testing, what is a drug panel?

From a terminology standpoint, a drug "panel" is simply a collection of drugs—or the family of drugs—that you want to test for on any given drug screen. Standard panels exist, and two of the most common are the standard 5-panel urine drug test and 10-panel urine drug test.  The combination of tests can vary greatly.

What's an instant drug test?

An instant drug test is exactly as its name implies—you get the results right away, at the point where it's collected, usually within a few minutes. It's what we call an immunoassay screening; its purpose is to detect any presence of that category of drugs in the specimen. The result is either negative (it's not present) or non-negative (it is present). An instant drug test can't officially give a "positive" result.


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MVR Background Check FAQs

What is an MVR Background Check?

An MVR background check is a report of a person's driving history. It includes information, such as license expiration, status, license class, endorsements, restrictions, traffic violations, accidents, vehicular crimes, suspensions—even unpaid parking tickets and, in some states, unpaid child support. The purpose of an MVR report is straightforward: to provide the employer with insight regarding whether the applicant/employee can be considered a safe driver.


How far back does an MVR report go?

This varies by state. Most states fall within a 3- to 7-year lookback period (three years is the most common). There's no national database for searching drivers' records—we obtain MVR reports through a state's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Secretary of State,  or its equivalent agency (in Massachusetts, for example, it's called the Registry of Motor Vehicles or RMV) 


Is a social security number trace the same thing as a social security number validation?

NO! The "social security number trace" (sometimes referred to as "SSN trace") is a research tool that we use at Good Egg to identify addresses, names (i.e., aliases, aka's), and dates of birth associated with a social security number. Various algorithms are employed to determine the output of the SSN trace, including but not limited to combinations containing full, partial, and "wild-card" database searches of first name, last name, DOB, and SSN. The outcome of the SSN trace will indicate an approximate SSN issue date and location where the number was issued. The SSN trace may also indicate if the SSN appears on the Social Security Death Index (SSDI). All that said, the SSN trace is not a social security number verification. The search does not confirm that the social security number is associated with the candidate, nor does it confirm that the candidate is eligible to work in the United States. The only authorized pre-employment method to confirm that a social security number is valid and belongs to a candidate is by requesting consent-based social security verification (CBSV) from the Social Security Administration.

What is a DOT Background Check?

The term "DOT Background Check", is a  catch-all phrase for the components that all federally-regulated transportation companies are required to include in their training programs.

Below is an overview:

Required DOT Background Check Services:
Safety Performance History
Motor Vehicle Report
5-Panel DOT Drug Test
Clearinghouse Query
DOT Physical

*ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND CHECK SERVICES INCLUDE:

Criminal Background Checks
MVR Monitoring
CDLIS
Enhanced 10-Panel Drug Screen
FMCSA Pre-Employment Screening Program (PSP)


You need a reliable partner who knows all the nuances and complexities of running a business in a highly regulated industry like transportation. 3D SCREENING leverages the experience, We provide thorough and compliant DOT background checks. This enables us to deliver one comprehensive screening solution to you.  You can focus on hiring better drivers faster while maintaining 100% compliance.