Are You Receiving Federal Records in Your Background Check?
By now you probably know the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) requires criminal records to be verified at the original source when making hiring decisions. By using an accredited background screening firm you will be receiving real-time, original source records from the County Court where the charge was held. If you are ordering federal records, there are some things you need to consider.
Did you also know, anyone tried and convicted at the Federal Level will only have their record held at this level? Take this case out of Oakland, Iowa for example. This individual was sentenced in Federal Court. A standard county criminal search of Pottawatomie County, IA will show no trace of this case. Any individual can be charged at both the Federal, State/County level. Some charged under Federal Criminal law will be charged and have their record held at the Federal Court. If you aren't specifically searching Federal Courts you will not see any Federal records. Federal Records are typically much more severe than misdemeanor or felony records you find at the County Courthouse.
So, what's included with Federal records?
Federal records can include kidnapping, burglary, gun and weapon charges, crimes conducted over state lines, any crime against a bank, ‘white collar crimes’ and most internet crimes. More often than not, Federal crimes are far more serious than those charged at the County Level. Make sure you vendor is providing you access to federal records.
Here are a few more examples of Federal Court Crimes.
In closing, any individual can be charged at both the federal, state/county level. Some charged under a federal criminal law will have their record held at the federal court. If you aren’t specifically searching federal courts you will not see any federal records. Federal records are typically much more severe than misdemeanor/felony records you find at the county courthouse. It is important to make sure your reports are comprehensive and include multiple searches. At One Source, we include federal records from all jurisdictions in every TotalCheck package.
