Employers in El Paso, Texas use background checks to verify the claims made by candidates on their resumes and during interviews.
This allows them to ensure their new hires are qualified, competent, and trustworthy.
Based on our experience conducting background checks in this city, we created this guide to serve as a resource for employers during the hiring process.
Key Takeaways
- An El Paso employment background check includes information about an applicant’s criminal history, past employment, education, and other key data that help companies make informed hiring decisions.
- Employers run pre-employment checks in the area to comply with regulations, safeguard their reputations, protect workplace safety, build positive workplace cultures, and mitigate liability risks.
- When planning to initiate background checks, your company must ensure it complies with federal, state, and local laws and regulations to avoid civil penalties and potential litigation.
- You can run a background check in this city by first creating a background check policy, training your HR staff, complying with notice and consent requirements, partnering with a reliable screening provider, communicating the results, and completing the adverse action process to maintain compliance.
What is an El Paso Background Check?
An El Paso employment background check investigates a job applicant’s criminal history, employment record, attained education, and other relevant information related to the position.
Why Do Employers in this City Conduct Background Checks?
1. Comply with Regulatory Requirements
In certain regulated industries, employers must conduct background checks that comply with their regulatory requirements.
Examples include trucking carriers regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), aviation companies regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration, and others that hire DOT-regulated employees to perform safety-sensitive jobs.
Some employers are also regulated by the state and must comply with state laws, including K-12 schools hiring teachers, healthcare employers, and those providing services to vulnerable populations.
For these types of employers, performing specific pre-employment background checks is required by law.
2. Protect Workplace Safety
El Paso employers use background checks to identify applicants with histories indicating they are unsafe or potentially dangerous.
This helps to protect workplace safety and the welfare of current employees, clients, and the public.
3. Mitigate Liability Risks
If an employer hires an incompetent, unqualified, or unsafe employee who later injures someone, the employer can face negligent hiring liability if they failed to conduct a background check that would have identified the problem.
Performing background checks as a routine part of your hiring process can screen for unqualified candidates and mitigate your company’s liability risks.
4. Facilitate a Positive Workplace Culture
When El Paso employers screen applicants, they demonstrate to their existing employees that they value them and their safety.
This can help to build employee trust, improve morale, and reduce turnover.
5. Safeguard the Company’s Brand
You must protect your company’s reputation. If you make poor hiring decisions and hire unqualified workers, what they do will reflect poorly on your brand.
Background checks help to safeguard your business reputation and prevent lost profits.
Know Before You Hire
What Appears on a Background Check?
The information you’ll see on a background check in El Paso depends on the searches you perform.
Many employers request the following search types:
- Criminal history
- Employment verification
- Education verification
- Professional license verification
- Motor vehicle records (MVR) checks
- Identity verification
Here’s a description of what might appear on each of these pre-employment searches:
Criminal History
If an applicant does have a criminal record, their criminal background check reports the following information:
- Case number
- Arrest date
- Offense type
- Offense severity (misdemeanor or felony)
- Disposition
- Disposition date
- Sentence information
Information about pending criminal cases will be reported, but arrests that didn’t result in convictions will not.
Employment Verification
An employment verification report reveals the following information:
- Former employers’ names and addresses
- Employment dates with each former employer
- Titles and jobs held
Verifying what your applicants have reported about their employment history can help you confirm their honesty and experience.
Education Verification
Education verification discloses the following details:
- Names and addresses of each educational institution attended
- Attendance dates
- Whether a degree/diploma was conferred
It’s a good idea to confirm claims your candidates have made about their education.
Some applicants will claim degrees they never earned or might claim to have attended prestigious institutions they didn’t.
Professional License Verification
If your open positions require professional credentials or certifications, you should perform professional license verification.
This type of background search reports the following information about an applicant’s license or certificate:
- License/certificate number
- License/certificate validity
- License/certificate type
- License/certificate issuance date
- License/certificate expiration date
- Public sanctions/discipline
Motor Vehicle Records Check
El Paso employers hiring for jobs that require driving request MVR checks to understand their applicants’ driving history and license status.
An MVR check returns the following information:
- License holder’s name
- License number
- License class
- License issuance date
- License expiration date
- Suspensions or revocations
- Traffic violations
- Major traffic crimes (DUIs, vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault, etc.)
Identity Verification
Consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) perform identity verification to ensure a record belongs to the right person instead of someone else with a similar name.
Relevant Laws and Regulations
El Paso employers must comply with federal, state, and local laws when they run pre-employment screens, including:
Federal Laws
FCRA
One of the most important laws that govern the pre-employment background check process is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
This law protects consumers’ privacy in the sensitive information gathered and disseminated by CRAs, including background screening providers.
CRAs aren’t allowed to report certain information older than seven years for jobs with annual salaries of under $75,000, including:
- Arrests not culminating in convictions
- Chapter 13 bankruptcies (For Chapter 7, 10 years)
- Debt collections
- Paid tax liens
- Civil lawsuits
- Civil judgments
The FCRA’s time restriction doesn’t apply to jobs with annual salaries greater than $75,000 or to criminal convictions, employment history, educational background, license information, and other important details.
Employers must also comply with the FCRA when they want to deny employment to an applicant based on information contained in a background check.
Before you decide not to hire an applicant based on this information, you must fulfill the adverse action requirements. These steps are described in detail below.
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
El Paso employers must comply with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), a major federal law that prohibits workplace discrimination throughout the employment relationship, including hiring.
Title VII applies to the employment screening process when a background check reveals an applicant’s criminal record.
According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s guidance, employers should individually assess criminal convictions concerning the job’s duties and workplace safety concerns before basing a hiring decision on that information.
Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act
The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act (FCA) is a federal fair chance law that applies to private companies that seek federal contracts and the agencies that award them.
This law requires employers to wait to query about their applicants’ criminal histories until they have made conditional employment offers.
Federal agencies can’t award contracts to employers that inquire about criminal records earlier in the hiring process.
State Laws
Mini-FCRA
Texas passed a law that is similar to the FCRA codified in Tex. Bus. & Comm. Code § 20.05.
While this law largely tracks the FCRA, it also restricts the reporting of criminal convictions older than seven years for jobs paying less than $75,000.
However, the FCRA contains a preemption clause, which means the FCRA controls instead of the state’s law.
This means criminal convictions can still be reported regardless of when they occurred.
Expunction Law
Texas has an expunction law codified in Tex. Code Crim. Proc. § 55.01.
This law allows qualifying people to ask the court to expunge or erase certain criminal records.
However, it is much more limited in scope than expungement laws in many other states.
Under the expunction law, only the following records are eligible:
- Class C misdemeanors for which the individual received a deferred adjudication
- Dismissed, pardoned, or acquitted criminal charges
If an applicant has a criminal record for which they received an expunction, it will be non-reportable.
Regulatory Consistency Act
The Regulatory Consistency Act was passed in 2023 and was a sea-change in how local governments can pass and enforce local laws.
Under this law, a municipal or county government can’t enact laws that go further than the state’s laws.
This law pre-empted numerous ban-the-box laws across the state.
El Paso Local Laws
Because of the Regulatory Consistency Act, El Paso employers only have to comply with statewide and federal laws.
Know Before You Hire
How to Perform Compliant El Paso Background Checks
1. Implement an Effective Background Check Policy
Before initiating pre-employment background checks at your El Paso company, draft and implement a thorough background check policy.
Your policy should describe the types of searches you perform for different job levels, the specific steps involved, and how your HR staff should handle the information reported on background checks.
Your policy should be uniform and apply to all workers. Avoid singling out only certain groups for background checks.
2. Train HR Staff
Once your organization has finalized its background check policy, thoroughly train your HR staff.
Make sure they know the steps to take when running pre-employment screens, including how to handle the information. Thorough training can prevent unconscious bias and other problems that could expose your company to liability.
3. Choose a Reliable Screening Provider
The value of your background checks largely depends on the screening provider you partner with.
If you choose an unreliable background check company, the reports you receive will provide minimal value and could risk lawsuits if you rely on the information.
Make sure to research your provider and confirm it is reputable, FCRA-compliant, and delivers highly accurate, current background checks.
At iprospectcheck, we leverage access to extensive resources combined with our advanced research methods and technology to quickly return up-to-date, accurate, and legally compliant Texas background checks.
4. Follow Notice and Consent Rules
The FCRA includes specific notice and consent rules for employers that intend to perform background checks.
Before you run a pre-employment check, you must notify applicants of your intention on a standalone form that doesn’t include unrelated information.
You must also obtain an applicant’s signed consent to perform the background check. Your screening partner won’t initiate an employment background check until you confirm you have complied with the notice and consent rules.
5. Review and Communicate the Results
When you receive the results from a background check, review the information carefully.
If you’re satisfied the candidate meets your qualifications, go ahead and schedule onboarding and their start date.
If the report reveals a criminal conviction, assess it as it relates to the job’s duties and your company’s safety requirements.
On the other hand, if the results make you feel you should deny employment, follow the adverse action process outlined below.
6. Complete the Adverse Action Process
When an applicant’s background check reveals negative information that makes you believe you should turn them down, complete the following steps of the adverse action process:
- Deliver a pre-adverse action letter – Identify the specific information in the report that leads your organization to want to deny employment. Attach a copy of the background check report section that contains the negative information.
- Provide a reasonable response time – Give the candidate a reasonable time (usually five business days) to provide evidence the information is wrong or that they have rehabilitated since it occurred.
- Deliver a final adverse action letter – If you decide to deny employment following the previous steps, send a final adverse action letter. Attach a copy of the applicant’s FCRA rights.
iprospectcheck: Your Reliable Partner for El Paso Background Checks
As an El Paso employer, running employment background checks is a good way to protect your company’s reputation, ensure your new hires are well-suited for their jobs, and protect workplace safety.
However, you must ensure your background checks are legally compliant, current, and accurate.
At iprospectcheck, we return comprehensive background checks quickly, enabling employers in the area to make fast, informed hiring decisions.
Call us to learn more about our background checks and other services or to get a free quote: (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 long does it take to receive results from an El Paso employment background check?
If you partner with iprospectcheck, you can expect to receive results from some searches within minutes to a few hours. Others might take longer, depending on whether the information is available electronically or has to be secured in person.
Information from some jurisdictions your applicant might have previously worked or lived in could take longer because of recent court rule changes.
In most cases, however, our employment background checks are completed and delivered within a few hours up to a few days.
How far back does employment verification go?
While employment verification can ostensibly go back as far as you want, it might not make sense to request information dating back to an applicant’s first job as a teen.
Most employers instead ask for information from the last three to five years. Depending on the industry and regulatory requirements, some go back up to 10 years.
Do all background checks search for the same types of information?
No. Employment background checks should vary based on your industry and open positions.
For example, frontline, entry-level staff likely only need basic background checks, but candidates for positions holding significant authority, access to money, or access to your company’s trade secrets should undergo more extensive background searches.
At iprospectcheck, we offer multiple packages and many add-on searches to help you tailor your background checks according to your needs.
