Pre-employment screening is one of the most important steps in the hiring process, as it ensures applicant honesty and protects the security of your business. Knowing employment verification basics will help you understand your legal obligations when it comes to applicant screening, and will also help you choose effective employment verification services, if you decide to use them.

New employee verification ranges from a simple check of the validity of a Social Security Number to a full-scale background check that investigates an applicant's criminal and financial history. Because employment verification delves into an applicant's private information, you need to take the utmost care with your screening process. You need to:

1. Comply with laws governing pre-employment screening and background checks.

2. Understand the connection between employment verification and immigrant issues.

3. Look into the benefits of using applicant screening services.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Protect applicant rights when screening employees

Pre-employment screening raises the question of privacy issues, and it's important to understand your applicants' privacy rights before you conduct any applicant screening.

I recommend: At the U.S. Department of Justice website, download an employer guide that provides an overview of the legal requirements you must meet when you conduct pre-employment screening. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse provides information specific to California, but also has a useful guide for complying to the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Understand how employment verification is linked to immigrant issues

Basic employment verification is necessary to ensure that the potential employee is legally qualified to work in the United States. However, you need to be aware that worker screening must be carried out without discrimination. Reading material directed to both employers and immigrant workers can help you understand the full scope of immigrant issues connected to applicant screening.

I recommend: Read an article at the Heritage Foundation to familiarize yourself with how the federal E-Verify program is designed to reduce employment of illegal immigrants. Then, review employment verification anti-discrimination protections in place for immigrants at the National Immigration Law Center.

Investigate using an employment verification provider to handle your pre-employment screening

Though you can certainly complete your own employment verification--especially if you don't need to conduct an extensive background check--it's often a better use of your resources to outsource your applicant screening to background screening companies or others who can provide verification of employment.

I recommend: Read the article at ESRcheck to understand what the benefits of outsourcing new employee verification could be for your company. If outsourcing looks like the right choice for you, check out the top-rated employment screening companies at HR Today.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  For the most convenient employment verification, choose a provider that offers online employment screening. Generally, screening offered and delivered via the Internet is quicker than other background checks. It has the added bonus of reducing paperwork in your office.

When you need to fill an open position, you don't have time to interview every person who applies for the job to determine who's best. To quickly determine the best of the lot, try a variety of prescreening techniques. By doing so, you can:

1. Hire the best person for the job.
2. Save money on training costs.
3. Cut time spent interviewing applicants.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Conduct a prescreen phone interview

A job applicant may have an outstanding resume. But to get a deeper sense of his or work experience and see whether the applicant can think quickly, is articulate and shares your organization's values, conduct a phone interview before setting up formal in-person interviews.

I recommend: Write down your questions and stick to this script. Avoid questions that can get you in trouble; check out the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Web site for an excellent list of illegal and loaded questions. Ask only about behaviors and work experience that's relevant to the current position.

Automate the process

By using application software, you won't have to look at applications from candidates who don't meet your minimal qualifications.

I recommend: SilkRoad Technology's OpenHire Candidate Qualification Screening is one example of application software that lets you choose the questions that applicants must answer, then automatically flag negative answers that disqualify an applicant. Kenexa offers both Kenexa Selector, an online behavior profiling questionnaire, and Kenexa Prove It!, which has hundreds of computer-based skill tests to help you find the most skilled candidates. PowerHires also sells prescreening software.

Hire someone else to do the prescreening

Depending on the number of applicants and open positions, you might want to hire an outside firm to prescreen job candidates.

I recommend: Prescreening comes in a various degrees: Verified Credentials, for example, provides employment verification to check an applicant's work history. ID Searchplus compares an applicant's name or Social Security number against a credit database to look for a criminal history and aliases. Kronos Talent Management (formerly Unicru) and HireSmart (specifically its Total Applicant Processing System) offer similar services. Rocket-Hire is a prescreening screener — the consultant evaluates and suggests vendors of prescreening services.

Check for the diploma

Any candidate can boast impressive educational credits on a resume. It doesn't hurt to make sure those educational credits are legit.

I recommend: Contact the school's admission's office (most universities have that info readily available online) to verify that the applicant really does hold the degree claimed.

Consider a credit report

If you're hiring for a bookkeeping position or anyone who will handle funds, you might consider running a credit report on promising individuals to see the state of their own financial affairs.

I recommend: AmerUSA.net, Accurate Credit Bureau and SentryLink all sell employee credit reports suitable for screening job candidates. (Ask your lawyer for guidelines on obtaining these credit reports. You must have a candidate's permission, for example, prior to obtaining a report.)

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Keep all prescreening free of bias and discriminatory behavior to avoid lawsuits.
• •  If you use skill tests, make sure they're accessible to all applicants.
• •  Ask what level of payment the applicant expects; if the number is too high, you know the person won't be right for the job.
• •  Do a Google search on the applicant to see what appears in relation to his or her name. Remember that many people share a name with others.

The pricing and costs of employment verification are almost entirely dependent upon the type of information you need to verify, as well as the number of applicants that you review each month. If your company is a small one, it's most economical to work with background screening companies that provide services on a per-use basis. Large companies, though, are wise to invest in subscription services with a monthly fee or services that provide volume discounts.

Before you look into options for new employee verification, decide what information you must obtain in pre-employment screening. Then, consider the budget you have for the services. You should be able to find something to meet your needs as you examine the following options:

1. Locate free employment verification services for basic needs.

2. Seek out economical ready-made employment verification solutions.

3. Purchase a new employee verification package or design one to meet your needs.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find free employment verification services

Depending on your needs, you may be able to use free applicant screening services. A completely free worker screening service won't provide extensive backgrounds checks, but will at least let you know if your applicants are legally eligible to work.

I recommend: The Department of Homeland Security offers E-Verify, which is a free online employment screening service that checks the validity of the applicant’s Social Security Number to ensure their eligibility to work. Past-Employ.com offers free employment verifications for members of its Employment Verification Services Consortium.

Find an employment verification provider with readymade solutions

Many companies offer solutions that are easy on both logistics and on your budget. Look to providers who offer clear price structures and standard products, especially if you have lower-volume needs.

I recommend: Intelius provides a full background check for about $50, but you may qualify for a volume discount if you handle a large number of applications each month. TALX’s The Work Number provides less extensive pre-employment screening, with verification of employment and income. Pricing for this service is based on the number of employment applications you review in a month. For example, if you only review 10 each month, your monthly fee would be under $150 dollars.

Buy a package for applicant screening or create your own custom package

When you have a number of employment verifications or if you have specialized needs, an applicant screening package can provide an economical solution. Most background screening companies allow for at least some customization as well.

I recommend: HireRight offers three different options for applicant screening, ranging from around $30 to around $70. You’ll need to register for about $20 before you can use these packages or its a la carte screening, which is under $15 per verification. Corra Group requires no registration fee and has packages designed for specific sectors and jobs, ranging from around $25 to nearly $200 depending upon the information you need. You can also create a custom package with either of these vendors.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most employment screening companies exclude prices charged by third parties. Courts, state agencies and some employers may charge fees for accessing their records, so be prepared for extra costs above the quoted price if you're conducting in-depth employment screening.

Employment verification is a standard procedure carried out by many employers as part of the pre-employment filtering process when seeking to hire a candidate. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) provides specific rules that govern what is legal and fair when conducting background checks and authorizing companies to perform screening on behalf of a company. Work authorization key terms are associated with employment verification and its vital to understand other key terms to ensure employment searches and background checks are legal and do not discriminate against potential employment candidates.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) sets the national standard for employment background checks. The FCRA is a federal law that provides permission for employers to request and seek information to confirm the documentation submitted by a potential employee for purposes of identity.

I recommend: Review Privacy Right Clearinghouse's guide on how to conduct a background check and the rules that govern the procedure.

Pre-employment screening

Pre-employment screening is the process of completing background checks to confirm the accuracy of a potential employment candidate's identity. A search of public records for birth records, credit reports and criminal history checks are typical searches conducted for screening an employment candidate.

I recommend: Visit 12manage to view a description of common searches to conduct for pre-employment screening.

I-9 form

The Employment Eligibility Verification I-9 form is a requirement of the U.S. government for employers. According to governmental regulation, the form must be complete within a specified time period for new hires. This form often requires a combination of two forms of identification documentation such as a birth certificate, social security card, driver's license or work permit for non-citizens.

I recommend: Business.gov provides information related to the I-9 form as well as access to the actual form.

Character reference

Character references can consist of contact with past employers, peers and faculty to confirm education, skills and experiential history. A character reference supports or backs up a potential employee's claims about their personal qualities.

I recommend: e-VERIFILE.com offers pre-employment guidelines as it relates to obtaining information for character references.

Consumer reporting agency

A consumer reporting agency is any agency that receives pay or charges fees to conduct pre-employment screenings or background checks for the purpose of documenting credit worthiness, professional integrity or character references.

I recommend: Go to Wildman.com to view a working definition of a consumer reporting agency from a legal professional.

Work authorization

Work authorization refers to official permission granted by U.S. Immigration governing authorities to perform a job for wages. Non-citizens must meet eligibility requirements to obtain documentation to confirm they're legally permitted to work.

I recommend: National Immigration Law Center (NILC) offers detailed information about work authorization.