Pre-Employment Background Screening

Make sure you know who you're about to hire!

(Click here to go straight to the Request Form)

When a company decides they are going to hire someone, it's always in the company's best interest to really know who they are going to employ. Given the wrong prospective employee, the cost for a small business to conduct a background check could pale in comparison to the potential liability.

"Oh, yes, background checks can be a very cost-efficient method of helping a small organization find people who are the right fit, especially when compared to the costs of a hiring mistake," says Manesh K. Rath, an attorney with Keller and Heckman in Washington, D.C.¹

A study of 23 large retail companies by loss-prevention consulting firm Jack L. Hayes International shows that 71,095 dishonest employees were apprehended in 2012, up 5.5 percent from 2011. In total, more than $50 million was recovered in those cases, up 7 percent from a year earlier.²

Here is where Investigative Tactics can help. We offer high-quality background checks/screens from basic to extensive.  Don't be fooled by those free and even the pay-for online backgrounds; those data sets have been prooven to be faulty, incomplete, and misleading time after time.  We have found, and clients have told us first hand, that the data those online "People Finder" and "411" searches do not contain accurate information, and much of it is years old... one of the online, anyone-can-pay-to-search companies even told a former client the person they were searching for had passed away.  Not so; we found the individual alive and well.

Recently, a Florida Judge found himself in major touble for publishing information he found on one of those online background check websites:

That is not the way we do backgrounds.  Many time our background searches reveal information only days old, not years like those online, automatic companies!

Some of the information that an employer may wish to obtain in helping with the final decision regarding an applicant are items such as:

1. National Criminal History
2. National Sexual Offender/Predator Search
3. US Federal Criminal Case Search
4. State of Florida Arrest Record
5. Driving History
6. Workers Compensation Case Search
7. Credit Report
8. Medicade & Medicare Fraud Search
9. Federal Excluded Parties List System (ELPS)/CCR/FedReg/ORCA Search

The following includes many of the types of information that employers often consult as part of a pre-employment check. 

You may order any of these searches by calling us at (239) 300-0892, or by clicking HERE.

National Criminal Case Search

Think the person you're about to hire may have lived somewhere else?  What if they went on vacation outside of Florida and got arrested while there? Wouldn't it be best to make sure this didn't happen? We have the capability to search nation-wide for public criminal cases, including many states, counties, cities and towns across the United States.  This process does not require fingerprints, instead it is a name-based search, normally using the individual's Date of Birth, Social Security Number, or a combination of other factors to verify that the criminal history belongs to them.

National Sexual Offender/Predator Search

Depending on the job you may be hiring someone for, it may be legally required to verify that the applicant is not on any of the 50 states' or other US territories' Sexual Offender/Predator lists.  We can help here.  We have access to the US Federal system which requires all legal jurisdictions in the United States as well as territories of the US, to report all convictions of crimes defined as Sexual Offenses. 

US Federal Criminal Case Search

Most people don't realize that a "National Criminal History"does not include the US Federal Criminal Court System.  Look around you as you're driving home; you probably won't realize it, but chances are you'll see a Federal Law Enforcement Officer/Agent without even knowing it!  There are more Federal Agencies with arrest authority than most know, and those arrested under federal statutes are not prosecuted in the City, County, or State Courts, but the US Federal Court System.  Investigative Tactics has direct access to the US Federal Court System so we can check to make sure your applicant hasn't been criminally charged by any of the US federal agencies.

Florida Arrest/Criminal History

The State of Florida maintains excellent records of every arrest and the case's outcome.  Many other data sources only offer a cursory search of Florida's county records; we can directly search the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's (FDLE) database for an individual's arrest records.  Remember, just because someone is arrested, does not always mean their case will end up in court.  

Driving History

Hiring someone to drive your car or a company vehicle?  You better make sure they have a clean driving record!  Investigative Tactics is online with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle, and can obtain real-time driver records from the State of Florida itself.  These are not publicly-available records, and are only available to Law Enforcement and licensed Investigators for legal purposes.

Additionally, we have access to many other states' Driving History records; just ask!

Workers Compensation Case Search

In many states, the more claims against your insurance, the higher premiums you'll pay.  Sure, sometimes folks get injured on the job; that's a fact of life.  However, wouldn't you like to know if that applicant, the one you may hire, has a history of filing cases against your company's Worker Compensation policy?  We can search for these types of cases in Florida and many other states.

Medicade & Medicare Fraud Search

We read about it in the paper and hear about it on the evening news; people scamming the the Medicade & Medicare system.  Many times these folks aren't arrested, but instead are placed on the US Federal Office of the Inspector General's List of Excluded Individual and Entities.  

The OIG has the authority to exclude individuals and entities from Federally funded health care programs pursuant to sections     1128  and 1156  of the Social Security Act  and maintains a list of all currently excluded individuals and entities called the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE). Anyone who hires an individual or entity on the LEIE may be subject to civil monetary penalties (CMP).

Exclusions are imposed for a number of reasons:

Mandatory exclusions: OIG is required by law to exclude from participation in all Federal health care programs individuals and entities convicted of the following types of criminal offenses: Medicare or Medicaid fraud, as well as any other offenses related to the delivery of items or services under Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, or other State health care programs; patient abuse or neglect; felony convictions for other health care-related fraud, theft, or other financial misconduct; and felony convictions relating to unlawful manufacture, distribution, prescription, or dispensing of controlled substances.

Permissive exclusions: OIG has discretion to exclude individuals and entities on a number of grounds, including misdemeanor convictions related to health care fraud other than Medicare or a State health program, fraud in a program (other than a health care program) funded by any Federal, State or local government agency; misdemeanor convictions relating to the unlawful manufacture, distribution, prescription, or dispensing of controlled substances; suspension, revocation, or surrender of a license to provide health care for reasons bearing on professional competence, professional performance, or financial integrity; provision of unnecessary or substandard services; submission of false or fraudulent claims to a Federal health care program;  engaging in unlawful kickback arrangements; and defaulting on health education loan or scholarship obligations; and controlling a sanctioned entity as an owner, officer, or managing employee.

This isn't a "Criminal History" per say.  However, if you're thinking about hiring someone into a postion of trust, you may wish to consider this type of search.  Ask us how.

Federal Excluded Parties List System (ELPS)/CCR/FedReg/ORCA Search

Did you know US Federal Government has a "real-time" list that identifies parties barred from receiving Federal contracts, including healthcare program funding or reimbursement, and from certain types of Federal financial and non-financial assistance and benefits?  

The Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) is a system maintained by the Federal Government. A Federal agency can "exclude," i.e., suspend or debar, businesses or individuals from receiving contracts or assistance for various reasons, such as a conviction of or indictment for a criminal or civil offense or a serious failure to perform to the terms of a contract.

A suspension is a temporary exclusion of a party pending the completion of an investigation, while a debarment is a fixed-term exclusion. Generally, the period of debarment does not exceed 3 years, though some are indefinite.  Parties can be excluded from receiving a wide range of federal funds including, but not limited to, Medicare and Medicaid provider payments, cooperative agreements, scholarships, fellowships, loan guarantees, subsidies, insurance, payments for specified uses, donation agreements, or contracts of assistance.

Investigative Tactics can search this system (which has been combined to include the Central Contractor Registration-CCA / Federal Agency Registrationto-FedReg & Online Representations and Certifications Application-ORCA) to see if an individual has been sanctioned from these federal contracts and/or federal benefits.

Credit Reports

Depending upon what position the candidate may be filling, a Credit Report may be an excellent indicator if they are safe to be put into a position of financial trust. Investigative Tactics can provide an Experian Credit Report with a score, with the appropriate authorization.  You may be able to get this report as fast as the next business day.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), businesses must obtain an employee's written consent before seeking an employee's (or possible employee's) credit report. If you decide not to hire or promote someone based on information in the credit report, you must provide a copy of the report and let the applicant know of his or her right to challenge the report under the FCRA. Visit the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection’s website for more information. 

Bankruptcies

Bankruptcies are a matter of public record and may appear on an individual's credit report. The Federal Bankruptcy Act prohibits employers from discriminating against applicants because they have filed for bankruptcy.

Additional Information:

Lie Detector Tests

The Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits most private employers from using lie detector tests, either for pre-employment screening or during the course of employment. The law includes a list of exceptions that apply to businesses that provide armored car services, alarm or guard services, or those that manufacture, distribute, or dispense pharmaceuticals.  Even though there is no federal law specifically prohibiting you from using a written honesty test on job applicants, these tests frequently violate federal and state laws that protect against discrimination and violations of privacy.

If you have a need for a Lie Detector/Polygraph test, please contact us.

Military Service

Military service records may be released only under limited circumstances, and consent is generally required. The military may, however, disclose name, rank, salary, duty assignments, awards and duty status without the service member's consent.

Investigative Tactics has assisted in this area in the past, and specifically with helping find the owner of found dog tags in Vietnam.  Please feel free to read Vietnamese immigrant from Plymouth looks to link soldier with dog tag.

School Records

Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and similar state laws, educational records such as transcripts, recommendations and financial information are confidential and will not be released by the school without a student's consent.  However, should you wish, we can individually contact the referenced educational institutions to confirm education cited.

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¹ Are Employee Background Checks Worth the Cost?  by Robin for Stratton May 03, 2013 www.nfib.com/article/are-employee-background-checks-worth-the-cost-62715

²  Employee Theft On the Rise and Expected to Get Worse by Chad Brooks, BusinessNewsDaily, June 19, 2013 www.businessnewsdaily.com/4657-employee-theft-rising.html