[Employee Hiring] Background Basics

Employment screening seems to be quite the “buzz” in the pest control industry recently for several reasons:

• Consumers are becoming more informed, and want to know whether the technician in their home has had a criminal background check. 
• Employers want to do all they can to protect co-workers and clients from theft and violence (along with avoiding negligent hiring lawsuits). 
• Some pest control operators want to comply with NPMA’s QualityPro program, which requires them to screen new and existing employees.

Following are brief explanations of various criminal background screens offered by employment screening providers. Pest management professionals can use this information to help create an appropriate screening program for their organization.

Social Security Trace. This should be a company’s initial screen. A Social Security trace verifies the applicant’s social security number while tracing all addresses and names associated with it. This will verify whether the Social Security number is valid, and if the applicant is being honest about where they’ve lived and what names they have used in the past.

County Record Check. This is a physical check of the applicant’s criminal history, which takes place on-site at the local county courthouse. Typically, a company should check all counties the applicant has lived for the last seven to 10 years. This will provide accurate, up-to-the-minute information on misdemeanors, felonies and open cases. County record checks take 24 to 72 hours to complete. If you are receiving instant results, you are not getting a county record check.

National Criminal Database. There are various national databases that depend on counties and/or states to deposit criminal records. This screening partially covers 48 states, but is not comprehensive. Several counties do not report records at all, while a number only report felonies, and some states do not report any open cases. A national database check gives immediate results, but is not legally defensible. This search is best used in conjunction with a county record check.

Statewide Check. The majority of statewide checks are databases provided by the states’ departments of corrections. In general, you will get information on applicants who have been incarcerated only. It will rarely give you open cases or misdemeanors. Much of the national databases come from the statewide repositories.

Motor Vehicle Report. This report supplies the applicant’s driving record for the past three to five years.

Sex Offender Registry. A check for the applicant’s name on the national sex offender registry.

WHY SCREEN? When technicians are hired, your company invests time and money into their training, and trusts them with company vehicles and products, as well as with your clients’ homes and personal safety. A thorough background check should cost less than your employee’s first day’s pay, but can prevent thousands of dollars in lost time and resources. A background check can’t predict the future, but it certainly can give you a better idea of whom you are hiring.

Equally important, if an employee should become involved in criminal activity while on the job and did not have a criminal record, you can show that you did a thorough check and used due diligence in hiring the applicant. This will protect you from a possible negligent hiring lawsuit. On the other hand, if the applicant had a criminal history of theft, and you hired him or her without performing a background check, you could be held liable if the employee steals from a client while working for you.

The author is Occuscreen business development manager. She can be reached at 888/833-5304.

NPMA’s QualityPro Requirements

Per the National Pest Management Association, QualityPro compliancy requires the following checks. For additional information about QualityPro requirements, visit www.npmaqualitypro.com/Qualifications.

• Social Security trace
• National criminal database
• County record check (of all counties with criminal activity that appeared on the national database check)
• Motor vehicle report
• Reference checks from past employers (this can be provided by a screening company or a PCO firm can do it itself)
• Urine drug screen (many companies who provide criminal background checks can also provide urine drug screen services)