Employers in the United States generally engage in a background check for the prospective employee so that they know for sure that they are hiring someone with a spotless civil record. The background history of a potential employee is important so that they do not end up with someone with a blemished history. This includes not only the person’s employment history but also their criminal record. On the other side of things, you will surely feel tense that you are being scrutinized. Even a potential employee with a clean record may feel nervous as to what may come out of their old records. If you have questions regarding Florida Employee Background Checks and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, contact Shamis & Gentile, P.A. today!
Florida Employee Background Checks & The Fair Credit Reporting Act
This brings us to the FCRA or the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which is a federal law where the employers are required to follow certain rules and regulations in terms of an employee background check. Failure of any employer to follow the FCRA rules can prove to be very troublesome for them. However, while discussing this law, it is important to understand how this law will affect your background check by your potential employers.
So, what information do they typically look for?
This information varies from company to company. However, one thing is for sure that no matter how deep any background check goes, it won’t present the entire information about your background. For example, certain civil records pertaining to bankruptcy or credit issues are not supposed to appear in public records after a definite period and some states even allow some types of crimes to be not allowed in public domain/records, while the law enforcement would still have them.
The 2 Levels Of Florida Employee Background Checks
There are two levels for a background check that employers will have to follow while they are engaging in your background check. Apparently, these records are not used by the FBI or any other state.
A Level 1 background check is usually information that will be within the bounds of your state and on your name, which is other than your employment history.
And then there is the Level 2 background check. In the state of Florida, this type of information means the one which is not bound to your state, but rather the whole country and is based on your fingerprint identification. And as obvious as it is, this type of information is required for any employee who is currently (or potentially will) hold any position of trust and high levels of responsibility. Anyone who has a felony on their record, will not be put through the Level 2 background check in the state of Florida.
Understanding The 7 Year Rule In Florida
This brings us to the 7-year rule. We hope you must have heard of it. If not, please read on. In Florida, whenever your records are being put through a background check for employment in the state, there is a buffer time of 7 years that shields older records from appearing in public records, thus evading scrutiny.
This includes records such as civil judgments, arrest records, tax liens, civil suits and come under the purview of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. According to this law, after 7 years have passed, these records will be taken off the public record.
But what about felony? Will felony get removed from your record permanently? It will stay on your record in all honesty, unless you are able to get it expunged. This means, your felony records will be accessible to law enforcement, banks, and employers which they will at any time.
A Few Words About ‘Ban The Box’ Initiative.
This initiative seeks to ban employers from seeking information from the job applicants about their criminal history, thus allowing someone with a felony record, to have a fair chance to demonstrate that they too can be a part of the well-functioning American society, through their skills and abilities during their interview. The campaign was initiated in the late 1990s in Hawaii and gained serious traction in the mainland by 2007-2009. the advocates of this law justify the initiative by stating that a good proportion of Americans are unqualified for employment since they have been convicted for drug possession due to strict drug laws. And in a time of high unemployment, this makes it even more difficult. However, this hasn’t been made into a law in the state of Florida. Learn more regarding Florida Employee Background Checks and the Fair Credit Reporting Act by contacting Shamis & Gentile, P.A.
Florida Employee Background Checks Conclusion
The basic reason behind this initiative is to give citizens wanting to reform the second chance in life. One act of felony that took place more than 7 years ago should not have the power to deny someone a rightful place in the employment pool. Unless, it’s a very serious crime, it makes sense that this initiative should become a law. If you have questions regarding Florida Employee Background Checks and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, contact Shamis & Gentile, P.A. today!
