FAQ

Evidence suggests that up to a third of all applicants lie or distort the truth on their applications. Between 5% and 20% of applicants have a criminal record depending on the industry. If an applicant has had problems with credit, driving, or a criminal conviction, and then does it again after becoming your employee, you may be guilty of “negligent hiring” if you haven’t done a background check. Workplace violence and employee theft are also increasing problems for many small businesses. Background checks will significantly reduce your liability in both these areas.

We offer online ordering on our customized platform. Once you become a client, you will receive your account information with your log in and how to guide for ordering.

It is simple. All you have to do is complete an order form and fax it to us along with a copy of an applicant release (We can supply you with a blank release that you can use or modify with your company’s information). In order to make sure that the proper person is checked, we need a date of birth and a Social Security number in most cases. A driver’s license check generally requires the license number. The applicant release supplied by Diligent Data Services, LLC has spaces where the applicant can supply this information.

Yes. As long as there is a contingent job offer prior to the background check, a business can do pre-employment screening on both 1099 and traditional W2 employees.

A good argument can be made that there should be background checks for all positions. Jobs that involve a high level of trust such as working with children, the elderly, money, driving, and having public contact are most important. Management and executive jobs should have background checks done due to the amount of responsibility involved and the decisions that can be made in those jobs that could reflect on the employer. Finally, checking is useful where there are job related license or educational requirements. You should tailor your searches to the specific requirements of the job

In general, negligent hiring occurs when you knew or should have known that an applicant had a past record and you did not check for it. It comes up when an employee, or in some circumstances an ex-employee, harms someone else where it would not have occurred except for the fact that this person was your employee. For example, if your employee has access to people’s homes and then burglarizes a customer, it may be negligent hiring if that employee had a criminal record that you could have discovered with a background check.

There are multiple state and federal laws that apply to background checks. You are encouraged to research these requirements in conjunction with an attorney who specializes in employment law in your area. In particular we would direct your attention to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and in New York Article 23-A of the corrections law. All searches from Diligent Data Services, LLC will only be shared with clients who have a documented “permissible purpose” to use the information under the law (such as pre-employment screening). We can help with some of the procedural issues in complying with the law and can offer our opinion when it comes to compliance questions, however specific legal questions should always be referred to an attorney.

Two to four days in most cases. More rapid access can be provided in some situations. Very specialized searches can require a week or more. Most of the time, we work by fax and email to keep turn-around as short as possible.

Most of the time, public records information is correct, however, data entry errors, misinterpretations, and incomplete records do sometimes occur. We always try to get corroborating information concerning the identity of an individual before providing the results of a criminal record as part of a background check. If you decide not to hire someone based on information supplied in a background check, you must give the applicant a copy of the results that influenced your decision and the name, address and phone number of the agency supplying the information. We have forms you can use for this purpose and can provide follow up information on all of our background checks.

Some information is available on the Internet if you want to take the time to find it. Before using this information, make sure you read the disclaimers carefully and know what you are getting. In our experience, even state agencies sometimes put incomplete or unreliable information on the internet. We get most of our information from searchers who go into the locations where records are stored and do their searches there. When we get information on-line, it only comes from government records that we have learned are accurate and specialized data sources that are only available with the proper training and a paid subscription. Freely available background checks on the internet are seldom accurate or reliable

Protecting the privacy of applicant information is very important at Diligent Data Services, LLC. Although we request an applicants full Name, Date of Birth and Social Security Number, we go to great lengths to protect this information from falling into the wrong hands. Papers with sensitive information are always shredded thoroughly when we are finished with them. Complete Social Security Numbers are not included in paperwork with the results of searches. We ask our clients to take similar precautions when handling and storing the results of our searches. Our full Security and Privacy policy is available upon request.