Dallas employers need to ensure that their prospective hires are reliable, trustworthy, and suitable for their organizations before making hiring decisions.
Dallas background checks are critical steps in making informed hiring choices, preventing losses, protecting current employees and clients, and reducing potential liabilities.
As a reputable employment screening company, iprospectcheck routinely performs background checks for employers in Dallas and throughout the state of Texas.
We have created this guide to help you understand the crucial details about Dallas background checks, the laws governing the screening process, and how to effectively perform them.
Key Takeaways
- Dallas background checks validate information applicants provide to employers on their resumes and during interviews.
- A background check in Dallas might delve into an applicant’s criminal history, educational background, employment history, professional licenses, and other pertinent details.
- To avert potential penalties and liabilities, employers must adhere strictly to local, state, and federal laws when conducting Dallas background checks.
What is a Dallas Employment Background Check?
A Dallas employment background check involves looking into an applicant’s credentials, education history, employment history, and criminal records to determine their suitability, trustworthiness, and safety.
Why Do Dallas Employers Conduct Background Checks?
Dallas employers perform background screens for various reasons, including:
1. Compliance with State and Federal Regulatory Standards
In certain sectors, such as healthcare, transportation, education, and social services, employers are legally obligated to check the backgrounds of potential hires before hiring them.
Failure to fulfill this obligation can lead to hefty fines and other sanctions and could also result in negligent hiring liability.
2. Ensuring Public and Workplace Safety
Background checks allow Dallas employers to avoid hiring applicants who might pose a risk to their existing employees, clients, and the public.
These checks can reveal disqualifying criminal records and instances of past unsafe behaviors.
3. Mitigating Liability Risks
Employers can reduce liability risks by conducting background checks.
By filtering out dangerous and unqualified candidates, background checks lower the likelihood of lawsuits based on harm caused by the company’s personnel.
4. Promoting a Positive Work Environment
Background checks signal to the existing employees that their employers value competence and help to build and maintain a positive work environment.
When employees know their contributions are valued, it can reduce turnover rates.
5. Safeguarding the Company’s Reputation
Background checks enable employers to select new hires who will best embody the company’s values and prevent potential reputational damage caused by unsound hiring choices.
What Shows up on a Dallas Background Check?
The information that might appear on a background check will depend on the reports the employer requests.
Most employers ask for the following reports:
- Criminal History
- Identity verification
- Education verification
- Employment verification
- Motor Vehicle Records
For jobs requiring employees to have access to a company’s money or the financial information of customers, credit history reports might also be requested.
Employers that hire for jobs requiring driving often request motor vehicle records (MVR) checks, and many employers require pre-employment drug tests.
Here’s a look at what might show up on each of these types of reports.
Criminal History
When an applicant has a pending case or criminal conviction, a criminal background check report discloses the following details:
- Criminal case number
- Date of offense
- Type of offense
- Severity level (misdemeanor or felony)
- Disposition and disposition date
- Sentencing information (if available)
Expunged records are not reportable and can’t be inquired about.
Employment Verification
Employment verification provides insights into an applicant’s previous employment and provides the verification of employment dates, and positions held.
Education Verification
Education verification verifies an applicant’s educational background, which includes the applicant’s attendance dates, and any degrees or diplomas conferred.
Professional License Verification
Professional license verification affirms an applicant’s credentials and discloses the following information about their license:
- License number
- Issuance date
- License validity
- Type of license
- Expiration date
- Public discipline or sanctions
Identity Verification
Identity verification ensures that the applicant is who they claim to be.
This process involves cross-referencing data such as the applicant’s full name, date of birth, and address history to prevent confusing information about the applicant with information about someone else with a similar name.
Credit History
Credit history checks provide insight into an applicant’s financial responsibility, which is especially pertinent for positions involving the handling of money.
Bankruptcies, liens, judgments, and collection accounts might appear in this type of report.
Credit history reports for employment background checks don’t show the same types of information as other credit checks and do not affect an applicant’s credit score.
Motor Vehicle Records
Motor vehicle records checks provide data about an applicant’s driving history and driver’s license.
The following information might appear on an MVR check:
- Driver’s license number
- License class
- License issuance and expiration dates
- Physical characteristics (height, weight, eye color, hair color)
- Traffic violations
- License suspensions or revocations
- Total points assessed
This check is particularly crucial for roles involving driving responsibilities.
Drug Testing
Drug testing may be part of a comprehensive employment screening, especially for safety-sensitive roles.
It involves checking for an applicant’s recent use of illegal substances and might involve urine, blood, saliva, or hair testing.
Consent is required, and testing protocols should be consistent to avoid any form of discrimination.
Laws and Regulations
Dallas employers must comply with local, state, and federal laws when conducting background checks. Key regulations include:
Federal Laws
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
The FCRA protects consumer privacy by regulating how consumer reporting agencies handle and share consumer information.
Consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) must abide by the FCRA’s seven-year rule and not report the following types of information for jobs with salaries under $75,000 per year when the information is more than seven years old:
- Arrests that didn’t result in convictions
- Chapter 13 bankruptcies (Chapter 7 – 10 years)
- Paid tax liens
- Civil judgments and lawsuits
The FCRA also applies to employers that rely on third-party companies for background checks.
If an employer discovers adverse information about an applicant on a background check and is considering disqualifying the candidate based on that adverse information, they must complete the adverse action steps before making a final hiring decision.
Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act is a federal fair chance law that only applies to federal agencies and private companies seeking federal contracts.
Companies that want to bid on federal contracts must wait to seek criminal history information about applicants until they have extended conditional job offers.
Federal agencies can’t contract with companies that request criminal history information earlier in the hiring process.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII)
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) is enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and forbids workplace discrimination by employers against applicants and employees because of their protected characteristics.
The EEOC has published enforcement guidance for what employers should do when they discover criminal records on background checks.
Employers should individually assess convictions as they directly relate to the jobs for which the applicants are under consideration before making a hiring decision.
State Laws
Mini-FCRA
Texas passed Bus. & Comm. Code 20.5 in 1997, which is known as the Texas mini-FCRA.
This law includes many of the provisions of the federal FCRA, but it also restricts CRAs from reporting convictions older than seven years on background checks.
By contrast, the federal FCRA doesn’t restrict the reporting of older criminal convictions and allows them to be reported regardless of age.
While the mini-FCRA appears to establish a seven-year restriction on the reporting of conviction records, this law was preempted by the federal FCRA.
This means that the restrictions of the federal law control instead of the state law.
However, even though this law has been preempted by the federal FCRA, many consumer reporting agencies still follow a seven-year rule when disseminating background check reports to employers and don’t report convictions older than seven years.
Texas Expunction Law
Texas has an expunction law, which is more limited than the expungement laws in many other states.
The expunction law is found in Tex. Code Crim. Proc. § 55.01 and allows individuals with certain types of criminal records to seek expunction and ask the court to remove them from their records.
The expunction law only allows those with sealed or pardoned offenses and those for which an individual has been acquitted to seek expunction.
People who have class C misdemeanors for which they received deferred adjudication are also eligible for expunction.
CRAs can’t report expunged records in a Texas background check, and individuals who have received expunction don’t have to report them.
Texas Regulatory Consistency Act
The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (TCRA) was signed on June 14, 2023, and is effective on September 1, 2023.
This is a state preemption and preempts any local law or ordinance that provides more rights to individuals than they enjoy under state law or includes more requirements than what employers are required to do by the state.
The TCRA preempts many local employment and background check laws, including ban-the-box and fair chance hiring ordinances and policies, local labor laws, and more.
With the enactment of the TCRA, the Dallas County Fair Chance Hiring Policy will no longer be effective.
Local Laws
Dallas County Fair Chance Hiring Policy: Preempted
Dallas County adopted its fair chance hiring policy in 2015, which applied to public employers operating in the county.
This policy prohibited public employers from asking about criminal history information on their applications and required them to wait until later in the hiring process.
However, the TCRA, which is effective on Sept. 1, 2023, preempts this local policy, making it ineffective.
Public employers in Dallas County will no longer be required to follow the fair chance hiring policy. However, they must continue to comply with the federal FCRA and the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.
Any public employers that have federal contracts will also need to comply with the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (FCA), which is a federal law that prohibits federal contractors from inquiring about criminal history information before they make a conditional employment offer.
Know Before You Hire
The Dallas Background Check Process
1. Notification and Consent
Before starting a background check, the employer must inform the applicant and obtain their written consent.
The FCRA requires employers to notify applicants in writing that they perform background checks in a separate form. They can include the applicant’s consent as a part of this form.
CRAs won’t conduct background checks until the employers have notified their applicants and obtained consent.
2. Selection of Screening Services
Employers will determine what checks they wish to run based on the nature of the job.
These may include criminal history, credit history, education and employment verification, professional license verification, motor vehicle records and more.
At iprospectcheck, we will customize packages for employers, and offer many types of services and searches from which employers can select.
3. Running the Background Check
The employer or their chosen third-party agency then conducts the background check.
It’s important to ensure that the third-party agency is compliant with all laws and regulations.
4. Reviewing and Decision-Making
Once the results are in, the employer reviews the findings.
If the results negatively impact the decision to hire, the employer must send a pre-adverse action letter and provide the applicant a chance to correct any errors in the report or present evidence of rehabilitation.
In general, employers give five business days for applicants to challenge erroneous information and present mitigating evidence.
5. Final Decision
Following the review period, the employer will make their final decision. If it’s unfavorable, they must send an adverse action notice to the applicant along with a copy of the applicant’s rights under the FCRA.
Run a Dallas Background Check for Employment with iprospectcheck Today
Understanding the intricacies of Dallas background checks is essential for making informed hiring decisions.
Complying with relevant local, state, and federal laws ensure fairness and protects your organization from potential legal complications.
For assistance, consider hiring a trusted third-party screening agency that’s well-versed in local, state, and federal laws and has extensive experience conducting background checks for employers in every industry.
To discover more about how iprospectcheck can assist you with your background check needs or to receive a free quote, call (888) 509-1979
DISCLAIMER: The resources provided here are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult your counsel if you have legal questions related to your specific practices and compliance with applicable laws.
FAQs
How far back do Dallas background checks go?
The time frame of a background check in Dallas, Texas, is influenced by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Under this act, a typical background check covers the past seven years for jobs paying less than $75,000 per year. Jobs paying more than the threshold amount aren’t restricted by the FCRA’s seven-year rule.
The FCRA permits the reporting of criminal convictions indefinitely in some cases.
Specific industries or jobs may have regulations that require background checks to go further back.
How long does a Dallas background check take?
The length of time to complete a background check in Dallas can vary significantly based on the complexity and breadth of the research and how it is conducted.
Employers who perform their own background checks might require a few weeks to gather all of the necessary information from different agencies, past employers, and schools.
With a reputable provider like iprospectcheck, simple checks can be returned within minutes to a few hours.
More comprehensive searches, particularly those involving multiple jurisdictions or manual court searches, could take several days.
Partnering with iprospectcheck can help streamline this process for fast, accurate, and legally compliant results.
What disqualifies you on a Dallas background check?
Disqualification factors vary greatly and are determined by the purpose of the background check, the specific job situation, and the organization’s policies.
In general, convictions for crimes relevant to the job role could be disqualifying. This might include violent crimes, theft or fraud convictions, or certain misdemeanors.
Other issues that could result in adverse hiring decisions include lying about education or employment history, failing a pre-employment drug test, or having a poor driving record for a job that requires driving.
