Why Should You Check Civil Records Before Hiring?

Why Should You Check Civil Records Before Hiring?

According to the Society of Human Resources Management, 53% of job applicants mention inaccurate information about their candidature in their resumes.

Hiring authentic employees is crucial in any organization for its growth and, most importantly, for its reputation in the industry.

In this fast-paced competitive corporate world, company reputation plays a vital role in raising capital, capturing big markets, and retaining customers. If it hires an unauthentic candidate, all these parameters will deteriorate with the dwindling reputation of the company.

Personal problems affect the employee behavior in the company that credit score history often results in dwindled productivity and making fallacious decisions for the company. That indirectly impacts the reputation of the company.

That is where a civil background check would mitigate the hiring of professionally unfit candidates.

But what exactly is a civil background check?

What is a Civil Background Check?

The civil background checks during the screening process provide a holistic candidate profile at the civil court level.

This check would show the County Civil Court Records Searches that recognize civil suits at the national or state level filed by either organization or individual. These records show any legal claims or current judgments where the candidate is listed as a respondent.

The main objective of such background checks is to ensure the safety and security of the employees in the organization. This also checks criminal record screening.

The following table indicates the bifurcation of important Civil Court Records Searches, different search options, types of cases, and record types.

Search typeWhat it searches forRecord and case typeSearch option
Lower Civil Court SearchThis type of civil court history search includes:
– Small claims Liens and foreclosures
– Product liability suits
– Contracts breach
– Personal injury
– Restraining orders
This type of case basically involves lower monetary claims, i.e., < $5,000.This search checks 7 or 10 years of legal history.
Upper Civil Court SearchThis type of search includes:
– Minor dispute
– Larger claims
– Liens and foreclosures
– Product liability suits
– Contracts breach
– Personal injury
– Restraining orders
This type of case basically involves higher monetary claims, i.e., > $5,000.This search checks 7 or 10 years of legal history
Federal Civil Court SearchThis federal records search includes all 94 federal courts for violation of federal civil law. This search seeks for cases such as:
– Tax disputes
– Violations of civil rights
– Violation of federal regulations
– Money Laundering Scandals
– Interstate commerce 
This consists of the federal government, state governments or county, and municipal governments.No search option in this case
Federal Bankruptcy SearchThis type of search is also civil court level and is searched to know about any associated candidate’s bankruptcies. This involves all 94 federal courts for bankruptcy filings. Cases include:
– Case or file number
– Bankruptcy type (e.g., Chapter 11)
– Date filed
– Names listed as petitioners
– Discharge date
This type of bankruptcy record includes Chapters 7, 11, and 13 of the federal bankruptcy laws. The bankruptcy filings that involve more than one country are filed under Chapter 15.No search option in this case

How Would This Affect Your Organization?

Hiring a genuine cohort of employees is highly crucial for the growth and reputation of any company. In addition, the inclusion of civil background checks in the screening process would bestow more behavioral insights of the candidate. These insights would help the company to decide on higher management roles.

This civil court records searches or full criminal background check amidst the company hiring process will assist you in:

  1. Shortlisting highly authentic profile candidates
  2. Securing your institutional assets
  3. Making well-informed decisions
  4. Compliance with industry regulation
  5. Following the company hiring policies

What Do You Need To Run Civil Background Checks During the Hiring Process in Your Organisation?

Beginning with a pre-employment check, you will need certain information about the candidates:

  1. FULL NAME
  2. BIRTHDATE
  3. SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (SSN)
  4. PERMANENT ADDRESS
  5. WRITTEN CONSENT TO RUN THE CHECK

Written consent of the candidate is necessary to conduct the background check. As per the Fair Credit Reporting Act, employers comply with rules and regulations while running such tests during the hiring process.

What Information Can You Fetch After This Test?

After the employee background check based on the last seven years or in some states, previous ten years, an organization can garner the following information about the candidate:

How Often Should You Conduct the Civil Background Checks?

While an employment background check generally conducts when someone applies for a job, it should not be a one-and-close type of check. For instance, it is unusual for a company to require yearly or semi-annual drug testing or criminal background check to ensure a safe working environment for all its workers.

Your background checking processes and compliance requirements should not end with a job offer; it is in your company’s best interest to create a profound policy for post-hire background checks.

Make it clear what will be included in the post-hire screening, such as an updated criminal and civil background check. Determine how frequently and when these tests will occur.

Conclusion 

Finding good character is equally important as finding the right talent. Screening a candidate for a specific role based on their competency in that field would give a competitive advantage, but including holistic behavioral insights in the hiring process leads to a great fit in the company culture.

With these civil background checks of the candidate, It will give you better decision-making parameters to hire a well-suited talent who can be trusted and accountable.

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