The ESS IRAS program is a state-of-the-art tool to help you manage your employment screening reports in a highly efficient and timely manner.

The ESS IRAS has multiple security levels available to insure only the proper personnel at your company can access sensitive data.  It is a highly secure and stable program.

Here are some of the outstanding features you will now have at your disposal 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

• Verify that your order has been received by ESS

• Check the progress of an applicant’s report – while it is being processed

• View the actual report on-line and print or save it to your hard drive it if you like

• Send an instant e-mail to the processor working on your report

• Select reports by a wide variety of options: applicant name, social security number, specific order date, order date range, order status, recently completed, or requestor

• Cancel or modify orders

• Archive reports

• Display order statistics – the number of reports that are completed, pending and archived

• View invoices and print or save them to your hard drive if you like

• Individual user accounts for each of your HR and Accounting staff

• Send instant e-mail messages to our customer service, billing, or internet administration departments

• Review FCRA guidelines and print Adverse Action documents

• Link directly to our Client Services web site

As you can see, the ESS IRAS is loaded with valuable features to save you time and simplify your hiring process.  And while it’s a very comprehensive program, it’s unbelievably easy to use.  We’ve designed it as a “point and click” process.  There are no convoluted pathways to your selection or laborious steps to retrieve your data.  Just “point and click” and you’re there.

But the best part about the ESS IRAS is – IT’S FREE!  Although we could easily justify charging hundreds of dollars for the system – it’s that good – we’ve decided to provide it to you at no charge.  As always, our on-going mission is to maximize the value of our service for our clients.  We think this offering exemplifies that pledge.

To sign up for the IRAS program, please download the Administrative User Agreement, have it signed by the proper personnel and fax it to us at 1-800-624-2905. Upon receipt, we will get you set-up on the IRAS program, and send you a User Manual with your notification. After that, all reports sent to ESS will be available on the Internet.
 

2002 found many new features here at ESS as we continue to enhance and improve our systems and find new ways to make your job easier and help you hire "The Right Person For The Job." Below is a quick overview of the most important changes we made.

Global Terrorist Search:
You may have noticed on your reports that each Criminal History Search we do for you includes a check of the U.S. Government’s “Specifically Designated Global Terrorist” database.  If there is a name match or one approximating that of your applicant we will notify you immediately.  The notation on the report indicates the search has been conducted.

California Investigative Consumer Reporting Act Amendment (the sequel):
In October of last year California’s legislature made an amendment to the previous amendment enacted in January 2002.  Employers are no longer required to  “automatically” provide California residents a copy of the investigative consumer report (background report) when they receive it.  Instead, at the time the applicant signs the release and authorization he/she must check the box on the form requesting a copy.  This is the action that triggers the requirement for providing the report to the applicant.  ESS will track for you which applicants must be given a copy.  When the report is sent to you it will include a cover letter for the applicant if they requested one (i.e., if they checked the box on the release).  No cover letter means you don’t have to share the report with the applicant.  This is good news because it is an easing of the restrictions the legislature previously imposed.

Criminal History Notification:
If you faxed us an employment application with your order and it contains a section asking if the individual has ever been convicted of a crime, we will compare your applicant’s response and comments with the results of our search.  If there is any variance we will note that for you.

Statewide Criminal Search Availability Advisor:
If a county Criminal Search has been ordered but a statewide search is available, we will add a notation to your report.  It will include the expected turn-around time and cost for adding the statewide check should you wish to expand your search.  Often times we don’t use the statewide search as the primary search because many states tend to have incomplete information.  However, the statewide search can increase your coverage and is a good supplement to the county search.

Auxiliary National Criminal Index Search:              An ESS Exclusive Free Report
We’re very excited about this development.  We believe it’s going to revolutionize the way applicants’ backgrounds are checked.  It is our collection of databases containing over 75 million criminal records from 36 states and 12 major metropolitan areas.  The ANCI Search is automatically conducted when we do your criminal search.  It’s a supplement to the standard search and it helps us locate other records that may exist.  If there are any “hits,” with your permission, we then check the courthouse records or state repository to provide you with the details of the offenses.  These additional searches are conducted at our low add on rates.  ANCI increases the scope of our criminal coverage exponentially and gives you something no other screening company can offer. 

Encrypted E-mail Reports:
In order to enhance the security of reports that are e-mailed to you we’ve added the “ZixMail” encryption software program to our process.  This involves an extra step when you open your e-mailed report (i.e., entering a password) but it secures the data.  Since the reports we do for you contain sensitive information it is in everyone’s best interests to see they are highly protected. 

For more information regarding any of these new features, please feel free to contact our our Marketing Department at ess@employscreen.com. We would be more than happy to explain them to you in more detail.
 

With the American spirit of entrepreneurship, human resources and hiring managers are always encountering job applicants with a history of self-employment and contract employment. Employers who simply trust a candidate's self-employment information are exposing themselves to serious risk and liability. Make no mistake, if there is a way for unscrupulous applicants to hide information they feel will hurt their chances of being hired, they will try it. Obtaining information regarding self-employment, company ownership, contractual employment, etc. can be accomplished when you have a well thought out plan in place, and when you use ESS.

In the past, it was frequently advised to simply ask a candidate for a copy of his/her tax return and/or pay stub information to confirm periods of self-employment. While this request is still made by some employers, it would be worth the time to consult with your legal department, especially if the request is made during the pre-hire stage. Asking for tax return and pay stub information may be viewed as soliciting information that is protected against discrimination - marital status, dependents, age, and possibly health related information and religious affiliation.

What does Employment Screening Services do to verify self-employment?

Based on the information submitted, ESS sets out to collect and confirm as much self-employment information as possible.

1. First, we check to see if a complete business name, address, and phone number are provided.

2. If a phone number is listed, we check it against the applicant's home phone number. If the numbers are the same, we do not call the applicant's home. However, if the numbers are different, we call the number and reverse the number to establish the origin. Often we are able to speak with partners, accountants, primary customers, human resource or payroll personnel.

3. If a phone number is not submitted or is no longer in service, we look to the name and address. ESS purchases a very comprehensive, proprietary, national business directory that is updated quarterly. In addition to searching a business by name, as can be done on Internet directories, we reverse the business address to determine current occupancy and current phone number to that address. We also survey the surrounding businesses. If the business was sold or closed, we frequently find and speak to current owners or occupants, or neighboring businesses that knew the applicant. Often we find the business and submitted address, but the phone number has been disconnected. This would be consistent with the formerly self-employed applicant who is now seeking work. Even though the number is now disconnected, the national database will still provide some information, such as the primary contact, how long the business advertised under this phone listing, and who the primary contact was. Occasionally, we find the submitted address does not even exist.

4. Lastly, we utilize corporation or business entity searches as provided by the corporation division in each state's Secretary of State office. Each state makes available public records regarding all businesses incorporated in their state, including businesses no longer active. Through this source, ESS is quite often able to confirm the applicant was the owner of the claimed business, and provide you with approximate dates the company was in business. The fact that a business is not found from this source does not necessarily mean the business did not exist. The owner may have registered the business under a different name, or did not register as a corporation at all.

How can you help us do a better job for you?

See number one above. If we do not have a complete name, address, and phone number, then it is difficult to proceed with 2-4. It is a good idea to inform applicants in advance, possibly through an application instruction sheet, to complete all parts of the application, including employers' full names, addresses and phone numbers. Also, ask applicants to include a name and number of a contact who can verify any periods of self-employment. Business owners should have clients and/or customers from whom references can be obtained. These clients can relay the scope and nature of the work that the applicant has conducted for them, the length of time for which he/she has worked, and provide general detail about the applicant's business. Long-term clients/customers, in particular, often prove to be the best source of verification information.

Verifying any type of employment is feasible; it is a matter of knowing what to look for, what to ask for, and how to obtain the results. However, it all starts with information provided by the prospective employee - the most instrumental part of the verification process. If you get the details for us, we'll get you the results for you, and our joint efforts will be rewarded when a confident hiring decision is made.
 

Obtaining a complete employment verification is an essential part of pre-employment screening. Yet sometimes this is not possible at the time of the background check because the applicant does not want his/her current employer contacted. It's a reasonable request to not jeopardize one's livelihood while exploring a new opportunity. In such a situation, the persons evaluating candidates and making hiring decisions would be well advised to have a policy in place making it clear as to when current employment information will be verified and by whom. Otherwise, you could be leaving wiggle room for a bad apple to slip into your organization.

We find a broad spectrum in how our clients approach a current employer specified by the applicant not to contact. We have clients that have given us a blanket dictate to never, under any circumstances, contact a current employer -- even when the applicant has affirmatively indicated it is okay. On the other hand, we have clients that have instructed us to always contact current employers regardless of what is indicated on the application, as long as the applicant signed the single-page, comprehensive release statement.

The most important point is to never skip the verification all together. Regardless of impressive credentials; regardless of successful verifications with other employers; and, regardless of successful reference checks with other work-related professionals - never skip a verification of a current employment. One option is to complete all other aspects of the background check first. If the results are positive and you wish to move forward, you might offer employment contingent on the verification with the current employer wherein no misrepresentations or discrepancies result.

Some employers do not wish to bother with a contingent offer, verbal or written. Time is of the essence and they feel they could lose a highly qualified applicant if too many demands are made. Nevertheless, one should verify the employment post-hire to get the complete picture. Dealing with the problem of a new employee who was not totally up front about his/her last job would be much preferable to dealing with a much larger problem down the road. Furthermore, should an employee cause harm to a third party, you will be better protected against a negligent hiring action having done a background check that was complete and thorough.

Another option during pre-hire is to ask the applicant if there is anyone in at the current employment who could discreetly verify current employment. In fact, the applicant may offer a contact, such as a co-worker, with instructions to only speak to this person. Often in this instance, we are given the home phone number of the contact because the applicant does not want to risk the slightest possibility of tipping off the employer that he/she is out looking at other employment. This may be a temporary solution, but there is always the chance of being set-up with a fraudulent contact, so it is very important to follow-up at a later date with a standard verification with the human resource or other designated department.

Recently we were asked to verify current employment through one specific person only. We were given a number that went directly to the current employer's receptionist and we were transferred to the contact who said he was a co-worker of the applicant's. After the applicant was hired, we made the call again. This time we reached the owner of the business. He confirmed that our first contact worked there, but the applicant had never worked there; however, her name sounded familiar. He then realized she was our first contact's girlfriend.

Please keep in mind that if we are instructed not to contact the current employer at the time of the background check, you are always welcome to make the request at a later date. Either contact the Processor who provided the report to you, or contact our Customer Service Department.
 

"No, our company did not move to Arizona, and she did not work for me in 1998 and 1999. She was here for ten days in 2002. She was the receptionist but thought she was the president. On her last day I saw she had brought a bag of marijuana to work. I fired her and she smashed a window on her way out." (The applicant did not provide the phone number. Hmm, I wonder why not?).
     

Have you ever been convicted of a crime: Yes
Explain: "In my 20's, stupid"

Have you ever been convicted of a crime: Yes
Explain: Possession of more than one pot-bellied pig at a time

Your Job Title: Sub Human Resources