Background Check Authorization Form Template

Whether you are hiring someone and need to do a criminal background check or a landlord looking to conduct a tenant background check, one thing is clear—it has become extremely important to check past records before having someone affiliated closely with you. Organizational hiring processes have used criminal history checks (and other forms of checks besides a criminal record as well—such as credit reports and driving records) to ensure the reliability and integrity of potential employees to maintain a safe and productive workplace. Beyond job applicants, potential tenants are also screened for their criminal history, employment history, or other types of public records to find any negative behaviors.

And at the heart of it all is the Background Check Authorization Form. This legal document facilitates the lawful and ethical gathering of candidates’ personal information. They make sure the process is legal while allowing, let’s say, employers to conduct comprehensive background checks that can range from employment history and credit credit history to criminal records and educational verification.

Just like how the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) protects consumer reports collected by credit bureaus and other institutions, an underlying Background Check Authorization protects the data being gathered for employment or other purposes. It allows the conducting party to do a background investigation—such as finding out the credit score or their drivers license number.

This authorization process needs to be up to code and ethical, meaning all checks should be conducted transparently and with explicit consent, following the federal laws. Even if an employer only wishes to do a quick check on a potential employee’s Social Security Number (SSN), they need a background check authorization process.

Today, we are going to take a closer look specifically at the importance of employment background check authorization forms and the risks of not using them. We will also cover the essentials of this form before introducing to our very own professionally drafted and legally sound template that you can use as per your requirements.

Importance of Employment Background Check Forms

A Background Check Authorization Form serves a couple of purposes for employers—it protects the organization by ensuring that hires have been thoroughly vetted and safeguards the candidate’s rights by making sure that their personal information is collected and used ethically.

With a proper, law-abiding employment background check process, any organization can build a consistent framework for obtaining permission to perform background checks. This helps companies avoid legal pitfalls. Complying with relevant federal laws such as the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the FCRA, as well as any relevant state laws such as California’s Fair Chance Act is extremely important for employers seeking to conduct background checks.

It is understandable that finding the right individuals to build teams is a mission critical aspect of any business’s growth. But it cannot be at the expense of the candidate’s personal information being misused with no regard for their privacy. It is not only unethical but unlawful as well.

As such, having legally sound Background Check Authorization Forms are extremely important for organizations today.

Background Check Authorization Form: Key Elements

There is nothing wrong with organizations attempting to collect additional information about potential candidates. But any type of background check has to be done lawfully and ethically, while taking care of the legal advice from government agencies and laws, both federal and local.

That can be ensured by having the most important aspects in your Background Check Authorization Form. These include:

1. Personal Information: Personal information fields come at the very beginning. These will include the full name, date of birth, social security number, current address, and contact information such as phone number and email address.
2. Type of Information: Here, you will provide a detailed description of the types of information that will be checked, such as criminal records, credit history, past employment, education, etc.
3. Purpose of the Check: Next, your form should include a clear statement of the purpose for which the background information is being collected. This is typically done for pre-employment screening.
4. Consent Clause: The form is incomplete without an explicit consent clause where the candidate authorizes the employer to conduct the background checks mentioned in the previous sections. This section should ideally include a statement that the candidate has the right to refuse consent and that doing so can affect their eligibility for the job.
5. Disclosure: Certain legal disclosures are also important. These include information about the candidate’s right to access any reports generated from the background check, as required by law in many jurisdictions.
6. Privacy Notice: Lastly, offer assurance that the information collected will be used solely for the purposes stated and will be kept confidential to protect the privacy of the candidate. You can also include any FAQs here.

The Risks of Not Using Background Check Consent Forms

Organizations are likely to be exposed to significant risks if they choose to forego a standardized Background Check Authorization Form. Without this critical and formal process, companies might be inadvertently violating privacy laws or overstepping in their background inquiries. This can easily lead to potential legal consequences, including fines and lawsuits.

So, not having these forms is a big no. But at the same time, relying on an inadequate template to go about it has risks of its own. A prominent risk is that these templates will not offer special clauses specific to the state laws that are applicable in your case. For example:

• California has one of the strongest “Ban the Box” laws. Under the Fair Chance Act, the state disallows any employer to ask about a candidate’s criminal history before making a conditional job offer.
• In Minnesota, if the conviction is unrelated to the job’s nature or responsibilities, then even a criminal record cannot be used to reject a job application. Plus, the job application itself cannot demand a criminal history record.
• Employers in Oklahoma are required to comply with the FCRA’s adverse action process if they choose to reject a candidate based on their criminal record.

There is no way that a generic, free template will be able to cover all legal bases, be 100% comprehensive and customizable, and also include special state-specific provisions.

Inconsistent background checks can often result in discriminatory hiring practices or the hiring of individuals who may pose a risk to the workplace—thereby affecting the overall safety, integrity, and productivity of the organization. That is why you are highly recommended to go with a premium template as a starting point. It is essential to protect the company and ensure a lawful and ethical hiring process.

Simplified & Standardized Background Checks with FreshDox.com

Here at FreshDox.com, we help businesses in implementing a thorough and compliant hiring process with our professionally designed Background Check Authorization Form Template. Developed with attention to legal standards, ethical practices, customizability based on your business’s nature, and local laws, our template makes sure that all necessary authorizations are obtained correctly before you conduct the background checks on potential candidates.

Our template is available in Word and PDF formats for easy customization to suit specific organizational needs and compliance requirements. With it, you can streamline and simplify the process of obtaining candidate consent in a standardized way. Naturally, this professional template improves the efficiency of your overall hiring process and reinforces your company’s commitment to transparency and security in the workplace.

When you sign up for a FreshDox.com account, you gain access not only to this template, but a plethora of other business and legal document templates—all ready to be customized to fit your needs. Our platform is a one-stop solution for all the docs you will ever need!

The best part? We also offer a 14-day trial period to test drive our Basic and Premium Plans. Basic Members can customize and download up to three document templates a month and Premium Members have unlimited access to all of our resources.

It is no secret that adopting a standardized Background Check Authorization Form is an essential step for any organization seeking to ensure safety, compliance, and fairness in their hiring practices. Implement our template today to protect your organization and build a trustworthy team!