School district, city conduct background checks on job
applicants
Gilroy – Job applicants are having a harder time keeping their skeletons in the closet as more companies and organizations turn to background checks for help with hiring decisions.
Some employers, such as public school districts and law enforcement agencies, are required by law to conduct criminal background checks to keep potentially bad employees at bay.
For the Gilroy Unified School District, the first line of defense in finding quality employees is reference checks followed by a thorough criminal records check. The procedure is similar for both teachers and janitors, yard supervisors and other non-teaching positions. It even holds true for walk-on coaches who work with athletic teams at school campuses.
“We use phone reference checks to previous employers and listed references,” said Kim Filice, who works in the human resource department for GUSD.
Any discrepancy on a resume or application discovered during reference checks raises a red flag, said Filice, and those people are not likely to get a call for an interview.
Once the district decides to pursue a job candidate, they will ask them in for an interview and send them to the San Martin Sheriff’s Department or the San Benito Office of Education for live scan fingerprinting. The fees for live scans vary depending on the position for which a person applies.
The school district requires most applicants to complete a live scan that is run through the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation databases, which cost $76 at the San Martin Sheriff’s Office. Teachers without credentials pay $124 at the San Martin Sheriff’s Office because they need to be cleared through the Teacher’s Commission as well as the DOJ and FBI.
Unlike the manual fingerprinting of previous years, when results took as long as 30 days to come back, the human resources department receives an e-mail in 72 hours reporting any negative items on an applicant’s record.
“No one goes to work until they have clearance,” Filice said.
“We have applicants pay the cost of the prints so we feel its not fair to send them until we know we are interested,” she added of the district’s decision to wait until they call applicants in for an interview rather than sending them when they fill out an application.
The human resources personnel looks for sexual, violent or drug-related misdemeanor or felony convictions. But it is just a small portion of applicants who fail to check a box on the application asking if they have ever been convicted of anything more than a minor traffic violation that have something show up after fingerprinting.
“It’s a pretty small percentage. Maybe one in 50 applicant’s records are returned with something on it,” Filice said.
The California State Department of Justice provides fingerprinting to what they call applicant agencies, which include government and private organizations that work with children, the elderly or the disabled whether it is on a volunteer or employment basis. Law enforcement agencies, public and private schools, non-profit organizations or in-home supportive care agencies qualify as applicant agencies in California.
The city conducts fingerprinting checks on all police and fire personnel, according to Leanne McPhillips who works for the city’s human resources department. She said because the employees have access to law enforcement databases, the city wants to make sure it hires people who will not abuse the information.
“We check background references. We talk to prior supervisors, co-workers and peers to get the information to make a decision,” McPhillips said.
Even after an employee is hired they must keep a clean record because the Department of Justice notifies GUSD or the city of Gilroy of any subsequent arrests, either felony or misdemeanor.
“If someone commits a violent felony, we will get a call to let us know,” Filice said.
In the case of misdemeanor arrests, it can take a week for the DOJ to notify the employer.
Companies or businesses that do not qualify to use live scan fingerprinting can conduct internal background checks by reviewing public records or they can hire an outside agency to conduct the investigation of applicants. One investigation company, located in Chatsworth, conducts nationwide pre-employment screenings for private companies. They have seen a dramatic increase in the number of background check requests they receive over the last few years.
“As an industry, we aren’t saying people with convictions shouldn’t be hired. But if someone has been charged of burglary, you might not want them working a cash register,” said Barry Nadell, owner of Infolink Screening Services, Inc. “We just want to let employers make informed decisions.”
Nadell works with both small and large companies, and said his services range from $20 to $100. Concerns about lawsuits, theft and terrorism are the main reasons Nadell says companies are using pre-screening services. He did caution that employers should be aware of the rights of job applicants before conducting background checks.
In California, job applicants are protected by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Both private companies and government agencies need to adhere to the laws.
Employers must notify job applicants that a background check will be conducted and notify them of the scope of the investigation. Employee background checks in California can include information regarding a person’s character, general reputation, personal characteristics and their mode of living. Employers have the right to see criminal history, credit history and to speak with former employers, colleagues and peers.
The employer must also provide the applicant with the name, address and telephone number of the agency conducting the investigation and a statement of their right to review the file the agency puts together.
For more information, visit the California Chamber of Commerce at www.hrcalifornia.com or call 1-800-331-8877.
Criminal records
According to one employment background screening agency, Infolink Screening Services, as many as 8.4 percent of applicants they reviewed for clients had a criminal background.
Applicant Criminal Records by Industry:
Automotive Dealers 12.1 percent
Business Services 10.2 percent
Construction 8.1 percent
Finance 6.0 percent
Food Services 12.4 percent
Healthcare 5.7 percent
Hospitality 8.6 percent
Manufacturing 9.8 percent
Retail 11.7 percent
Staffing 8.5 percent
Transportation 10.7 percent
For more information on Infolink Screening Services call
1-800-990-4473 or visit www.infolinkscreening.com.
