Our New
Web Site

We have completely revamped our website to make it faster and more functional. In particular, the Clients Only section is much easier to use.

To View our new website, click on the title to the left.

Holiday Schedule

We will be closed on Christmas day and New Years day but open normal business hours all other days during the holidays.

Best wishes for the Holiday Season!
          
New Oklahoma
Credit Regulations

Before employers obtain credit reports on job applicants from California, Minnesota, and now Oklahoma, the applicants must not only provide written authorization, they must also have a box they can mark to indicate they wish to receive copy of the credit report at the same time the employer receives the report. The intent of the law is to give the consumer ample opportunity to dispute any errors on the credit report before an employment decision is made based in part, or entirely, on the report. This obligation is in addition to, not in place of, obligations described in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (which affects all types of consumer reports).

When Employment Screening Services receives any request for a credit report we automatically check for proper written authorization. Additionally, if an applicant from one of these three states, requests a copy of the credit report, we send one to their home address.

The Oklahoma requirement has been added to our release and authorization form, which is available on our web site in the Clients Only section. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. We recommend that you also consult your legal department about the specific obligations of your business under the Oklahoma law, other state laws, or the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.

 

Texas Statewide Search Available
Texas has 253 counties, and a single metropolitan area can cover multiple counties.  Because of this, conducting criminal record searches on a county-by-county basis is not as comprehensive a search as one would like. 

Employment Screening Services encourages adding the Texas Statewide Search when screening an applicant with a history in Texas.  However, we do not recommend the use of the Texas Statewide Search by itself.

ESS has tested the Texas repository for several years by running names of subjects with known criminal convictions in Texas.  Unfortunately, the Texas database either missed or had incomplete information on a high percentage of the cases.  This is because the state database must rely on all the arresting agencies and corresponding court jurisdictions in Texas to consistently and completely report information to the state.  The state database also places some restrictions on the type of criminal information it makes available (contact ESS for more information). 

On the other hand, the state search has uncovered criminal information that would not have otherwise been found.  Obviously, the best plan is to add the Texas State Search to the standard county search.  To do so, simply indicate “Texas Statewide Search” in the special instruction section of your ESS Request form.  The fee for adding this state search is $10.

Also consider adding a Federal Criminal Search for $10.  See the October ESS E-Update for more information, or call ESS.
   
To Contact ESS e-mail us at e-Update@employscreen.com or call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-473-7778 X 104.

If you know someone in your company who should be receiving this e-Update, please let us know so we can add them to our list.