We pledge to always “take the high road” when it comes to providing background checks for our clients.

There is a disturbing trend in the employment screening industry these days. A few screening companies are taking shortcuts that are causing controversy in the market. They are offering some cheap and quick services that at first glance appear quite attractive.

There is a downside to these practices, however, that is not readily apparent if one doesn’t look behind the curtain so to speak. We have taken a stand not to pursue these hazardous practices. If you are approached by one of these companies here are some things to keep in mind.

When conducting U.S. employment or education verifications some employment screening companies send the sensitive personal information (i.e., social security numbers and other identifying data) off-shore to be processed. It is typically done without the employer or the consumer being told it is happening. The overseas call centers are selected because they offer the screening company a way to cut costs.

Most of these countries, however, have little or no data protection. In some of them private data can be purchased very readily and cheaply. American job applicants have no ability to enforce their privacy rights overseas. In our opinion, this places both applicants and employers at risk and should be avoided.

As another cost cutting measure some employment screening companies market "national" or "nationwide" or “regional” criminal records databases as stand alone products. This is dangerous because they do not have appropriate safeguards to ensure that the information they are delivering is accurate and up-to-date. It is second hand information.

We believe that criminal records databases are valuable sources of information if they are used in a responsible manner. They should always be used in conjunction with an onsite courthouse search or an official state government repository search.

For example, we will not sell our Auxiliary National Criminal Index Search (ANCI) separately. It is always and automatically included in all our standard criminal searches. And when there is a “hit” found in ANCI we always perform due diligence by following up to make sure it is accurate before we report it.

We are concerned the abridged practices some screening companies utilize do not appropriately protect job applicants from avoidable harm. Furthermore, employers are placed at increased risk of litigation and public relations problems.

We have always chosen to take the high road in all our procedures and practices. We pledge never to compromise our service by employing the flawed practices described above. Your trust and loyalty is just too important to us.