Background checks conducted prior to employment are a crucial part of the hiring process. It can be a good practice for businesses to conduct due diligence on each candidate’s criminal, employment, educational, and legal history with a background check because they want to invest in the right talent for their teams. Colorado permits controlled access to data that aids in providing you with a complete picture of each applicant, making it possible to perform a Colorado background check.

Background checks mandated by the State of Colorado assist employers in making the best decisions possible based on accurate, reliable, and unbiased data. Background checks are crucial for both big and small businesses from Durango to Denver, Steamboat to Colorado Springs. By assisting in risk mitigation, they can prevent your organization from making expensive decisions, but it’s not always simple to know where to begin. Self-performed background checks can be laborious and time-consuming.

Although having everything online makes it simpler to access records, some agencies might not provide this choice.

Any public data can typically be obtained by submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) letter of request to the organization holding the record.

Knowing the state law is crucial before requesting any documents because each state has different regulations.

The Colorado Open Records Act, also known as “CORA,” permits anyone in the United States to ask the three branches of Colorado’s government for a public record.

Unless it is a juvenile record, mental health care record, or protected by a state statute, most records and writings can be requested. There are several ways to look at the records. Some of them can be accessed online, while others can be mailed or faxed.

But there are specific Colorado policies and laws you’ll want to make sure you are aware of, understand, and uphold throughout the entire hiring process before you start pulling records and using them as justification for employment.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

It is legal for employers to conduct background checks and ask applicants about their past. Federal laws, however, exist to stop this information from being handled improperly or inappropriately, and various laws protect employees from discrimination. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) oversees everything.

These include:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• Pregnancy Discrimination Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Equal Pay Act
• Age Discrimination in Employment Act
• Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act

An employer should make sure that it is not discriminating against candidates based on protected categories as a key lesson from this. The key ideas are outlined below:

Background checks cannot be requested on the basis of a person’s age, gender, disability, religion, race, nationality, or ethnicity.

In the selection process, each candidate should be held to the same standards. You cannot, for instance, choose to hire one candidate over another if they both have criminal records based on differences in race, nationality, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, or age.

Background issues that may be more prevalent among people of a particular race, nationality, ethnicity, sex, religion, disability, or age should not be taken into account when making employment decisions.

Before making a conditional job offer, no medical questions should be asked, unless pertinent.

Employers shouldn’t ask job applicants for details about their genetic makeup or their family’s medical history.

A background check should include reasonable modifications for any components relating to a disability.

Information Found on a Colorado Background Check

In Colorado, background checks for employment typically include:

The applicant’s criminal history (including felonies, misdemeanors, and minor offenses); an examination of their educational credentials; and an examination of their employment history.

The following is part of the criminal background check:

The nature of the crime the person was detained for; the time the crime was committed and the time charges were brought; the manner and timing of the case’s resolution (the “disposition”); and the sentence the person was given.

A list of the person’s previous employers, jobs, and dates of employment makes up the employment verification. The education verification reveals the person’s schools, enrollment dates, and degrees or certifications obtained.

Keep in mind that employers may request drug tests and/or driving records for some positions.

. Under three conditions, Colorado employers may demand that job applicants consent to a credit check as part of the background check procedure:

The credit check is directly related to the job the applicant is being considered for; the law mandates such a credit report check; or

A bank or other financial institution serves as the employer.

Additionally, employers must notify applicants in writing if they are not hired as a result of their credit history.

Get a Background Check in Colorado

If you think you’ve found the ideal candidate for the position, it’s time to conduct a background check on them to gather all pertinent information before making a formal job offer, making sure there are no alarming items in their records that would make you second-guess hiring them.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation Department of Public Safety is where the data for a background investigation in Colorado is retrieved. You can access some public records through a CBI background check, which you can use to learn more about your candidate’s past.

There are quite a number of places where you can perform a background check from online. Theses includes cbirecordscheck.com, cbi.colorado.gov, iprospectcheck.com, shouselaw.com, checkr.com, backgroundchecks.com, backgroundchecks.org.

These are the details that you should keep in mind as you perform a Colorado background. They will go a long way in making your search process a worthwhile experience.