The use of background checks for employment purposes is regulated at many different levels of law in the state of Oklahoma. The majority of employers in Oklahoma understand the value of performing some sort of pre-employment background investigation. An Oklahoma background check can assist you in ensuring the qualifications of your applicants and defending the security of your business.
An enormous amount of information can be found in public records. Births, deaths, prisoners, and court cases are all things that the state of Oklahoma keeps records of. The documents can be hard to find, request, and receive even though they are useful.
This is mainly due to the fact that the majority of public records are seldom located in a single state agency and instead can be found in various departments. It can be time and energy-saving to know how to navigate the process.
A request can be made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by anyone who needs to access records.
It’s crucial to understand the state law before requesting any documents because each state has different procedures.
Oklahoma Background Check Laws
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) mandates that the business “clearly and conspicuously disclose” that it intends to conduct a background investigation on the applicant. The applicant may be entitled to compensation if the request is not obvious and clear or if the business runs the background check without first receiving written consent.
Oklahoma has implemented some ban-the-box legislation, but it only pertains to state agencies. Consequently, if you work for a state agency, you are not permitted to inquire about applicants’ criminal histories during the initial application process and are instead required to hold off on conducting the standard background check until after a conditional offer of employment has been made. The new hire might not begin working until then.
Possible Results from a Background Check for Employment in Oklahoma
Depending on the information you request, you might see different types of information on an Oklahoma pre-employment background check.
In Oklahoma, background checks for jobs may include the following kinds of data:
- Convictions for felonies that have not been sealed or expunged
- Convictions for misdemeanors that have not been sealed or erased
- Unresolved criminal cases
- Arrests that resulted in convictions that weren’t vacated or sealed
- Civil verdicts from the previous seven years
- Adding a name to the sex offender list
- Location history
- Employment background
- Listed as a domestic terrorist suspect in prison
On their pre-employment background checks, the majority of employers in Oklahoma ask for information on a candidate’s criminal history, employment history, and educational background.
What might be seen on those reports is as follows:
Criminal Records
If a candidate has a criminal record and it hasn’t been sealed or expunged, you will see the following details about his or her offense(s):
- Date of Charge Filing
- Charge magnitude (Felony or misdemeanor)
- Disposition
- Date of disposition
- Sentence
After that, you can finish a personal evaluation of a conviction in relation to the position you are hiring for.
Workplace Verification
You can confirm the prior employment history that your applicants have reported by asking for employment verification. You’ll notice the following details:
- Titles/positions held at each previous employer
- Employment dates at each employer
Employment verification can assist you in ensuring that your candidates are truthful and possess the appropriate types of experience, thereby lowering your risk of being held liable for negligent hiring.
Education History
Employers can confirm the applicants’ educational backgrounds through education verification. You’ll see the following categories of data:
- Schools attended
- Dates of attendance
- Any degrees, certificates, or diplomas obtained
You can confirm the qualifications and reliability of your applicants by conducting an employment verification.
How to Get a Background Check in Oklahoma
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) were tasked with working with DHS as the lead agency to facilitate this process.
Fingerprint-based checks and name-based checks are the two types of criminal history background checks that are processed.
The Oklahoma Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) driving records and the Department of Corrections’ (DOC) sex offender registry files are both searched as part of both types of background check requests.
The State Department of Education can be contacted to request background checks on teachers from school employers.
By submitting requests to numerous organizations, institutions, and previous employers as well as conducting online searches, some employers attempt to conduct background checks on their own. This method could take weeks and provide inaccurate, incomplete information.
Working with a reputable, FCRA-compliant background check provider like backgroundchecks, iprospectcheck, health-street.net, bidspublic is the best way to carry out an Oklahoma pre-employment background check.
These are some of the important details one need to be aware in order to perform a comprehensive Oklahoma background check. Try implementing them in your search for the best results.