Have you ever called an employment screening company and asked “how much for a standard background”? I know that you are expecting a 10 word or less answer and I have no idea how to answer that question to the satisfaction of the caller.

It is the question that is the problem. What is the problem with the question? I am glad you asked. That question can only be answered by asking another question. What is that question you ask? My, you are curious today. That question is ….. wait for it ….. “how much do you really want to know”? Within the law of course. That is not the best answer/question. There is a better question, so read on.

“Within the law” is the scariest statment known to HR and employment background agencies. It causes great pause and lowers your life expectancy. So how much do you want to know about your prospective employee. You want to know “just the right amount”! Well, what is that? I guess I should have been a politician. Okay, I’ll get to the point.

Background screenings should be approached from the position from which they are being put. A retail clerk would not have the same check as a truck driver or even an accountant. You may wonder what is the difference between an accountant and a retail clerk. They both work with money and have personal access to company assets. The background that you can perform on the accountant may include more personal detail, leagally, due to the size of salary. All of this is dependant on what you know about your state laws. A good lawyer or resource that watches state and federal laws surrounding employment is paramount in the employment business and that is everyone who employs people in the united states. I can’t speak for china, but I think a pulse is the only thing required for employment and that might even be a stretch (jusy kidding).

The long and the short of it is that you should have some information about the positions you are hiring for and what state they are working within prior to asking the standard cost of a background. You should also know more about your screening company and what are their resources. They should be a member of NAPBS. Not because NAPBS membership is important but because its resources to screening companies is invaluable. Your screening company may know its home state laws but needs help for national accounts where employees are being employed in other states.

To sum it up, lets do this together. We do not want a background to be a mystery cost nor what we do to be a mystery either. We cannot answer the standard background question to your satisfaction. If a backgorund search agency does not ask for what type of position and what state will they be working, hang up and call another agency.

California Mandated State Court Business Day Closures – Per the Council, all state courts will be closed on the third Wednesday of each month, from September 2009 through June 2010.  For further details, visit the state courts site at http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/.

This will create delays in turn around times for all california courts, especially if there are possible records.  It is unsure if public access terminals are affected at this time, but highly probable.  The courts being closed will also create delays in getting the information into the computer systems and available to public access terminals due to the stresss that will be introduced to the court system having to work harder.  The people most effected are the clerks and the researchers trying to get information from them in a timely manner.  As researchers, we try not put the clerks in a frustrating position.  If this happens then the clerks have little or no sympathy to the researchers who are pushy and demanding.