5 Background Check Terms You Should Know About

Background check terms can be hard to understand, but you need to know the basics in order to do and review background checks for your organization correctly. Here are 5 background screening terms you should know so you can make sure you are collecting information in line with federal, state, local, and business laws and rules.

Background checks go by many names, such as employment screening, criminal record check, consumer report, or, in California, Investigative Consumer Report. At InteliMasters, a background check is the collection of all the screens that were made at a certain time about a single person or data subject.

A history check can be done on just one screen or on several. InteliMasters offers the following types of background checks: identity verification, criminal, international background checks, driving record checks, employment, education, professional license verification, and professional reference checks.

Understanding the basic background check terms

There are a lot of terms to learn when it comes to background checks. Even though it may seem like a lot, knowing the different background check terms is important to make sure your business gets the right screenings for its needs, protects the privacy of candidates, and follows all laws and rules. Here are the 5 most important things you should know about background checks if you do them or plan to start a screening program.

1. (CRA) Consumer Reporting Agency

Organizations that gather or evaluate information about customers and send reports about them to third parties. These reports can be used to figure out if a person is eligible for credit, a job, insurance, and other things. CRAs include places like InteliMasters and Creditreform or Experian that check people’s backgrounds before they engage with them.

2. Credentialing

Background screening companies that follow the FCRA & GDPR verify the credentials of new customers to make sure that employers are allowed to get background check records and will only use them for legal reasons. Credentialing is a one-time process that uses different sources to confirm that your business is a real one. Most of the time, you have to fill out an application and provide documentation.

3. Pass-Through Fees

Pass-through fees may be added to the cost of a background check. These third-party access fees are paid directly by the customer to the state and county offices and courts, motor vehicle departments, educational institutions, and job verifiers. The screening provider passes these fees on to the customer.

4. Individualized Assessment

If a background check shows that a candidate has a criminal record, but federal, state, and local laws don’t make it illegal to hire them because of the crime, the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC) recommends doing an individual review. This review should take into account the nature and severity of the crime, the length of time since the crime or the end of the sentence, the nature of the job being sought, and how the crime relates to the job. It should also let the candidate give more information about the offense, like proof that they have changed, what led up to the offense, and other details that can help employers make a choice.

5. Dispute

If a candidate thinks that some of the information in a background check report is wrong, they can file a challenge. To do this, you need to talk to the CRA, which you can often do over the phone or online. The FCRA says that the CRA must look into the claim and let the person know what it finds within 30–45 days.

The number of complaints that are found to be valid out of the total number of background checks done by the CRA is a good way to figure out how accurate a background screening company’s result are.

InteliMasters makes the Background screening process Simple

Background check terms can be hard to understand, but doing background checks doesn’t have to be hard. InteliMasters makes the hiring process easier and faster. Our easy-to-use dashboard shows candidate reports in a way that’s simple to understand, so you can quickly find the most important information.

**Disclaimer** The information presented here serve only for learning purposes and is not meant to be taken as legal advice. We recommend that you talk to your own lawyer if you have legal questions about how your business methods fit with the law.