subject: Importance Of Background Check [print this page] People do background check to gather information about criminal records, commercial records and financial records of a person. This is often requested by employers on job candidates, especially on candidates seeking a position that requires a high security or a position of trust, such as in a school, hospital, financial institution, airport, and government that includes law enforcement and military.
This kind of information can be obtained in a government agency for a nominal fee or through private companies. They typically include past employment verification, credit score, and criminal history.
Employers often used background checks to objectively evaluate a job candidates qualifications and to identify potential hiring risks. This is frequently conducted to confirm information about an employment application or resume or curriculum vitae. There is even a study that showed that half of all of these checks are done on prospective employees is different from what the applicant provided and what the source reported.
It is also conducted to further differentiate potential employees and pick the best applicant suited for the job. A lot of companies have done this due to the increase in workplace violence that has happened, which has become a cause for concern for employers. And employers have a responsibility to make sure their work environment is safe for all employees.
In the United States, people also do background checks for those people who are wishing to purchase handguns from licensed firearms dealers. It is also done especially for people who want to purchase restricted firearms like machine guns, suppressors, explosives, or large quantities of precursor chemicals and concealed weapon permits. It is also needed for people who want to work in a position with special security concerns like trucking, ports of entry, and airline transportation.
Information for background check can depend on the reason for which it is conducted. So a person who is seeking employment at a minimum wage job would be subjected to fewer requirements than a person applying to work for the FBI. Information from this check can include criminal records, citizenship or immigration or legal working status, litigation records, driving or vehicle records, drug tests, education records, employment records, financial information, licensing records, mental or medical or physiological evaluation records, military records, social security number, travel records and other interpersonal interviews.
Unfortunately, this information can sometimes be used for illegal purposes like unlawful discrimination or employment discrimination, identity theft and violation of privacy. There are also controversies on drug test and credit checks for employment. There are also some people who are uncomfortable with the idea of investigators poking around in their personal histories. This is because background checks can give information that is not relevant, taken out of context or just plain wrong. Thus, though this can be beneficial, it also has some disadvantages.
