New York Criminal Background Check

How to Run a New York Criminal Background Check

Background checks are prevalent in New York as employers use this system to assess potential hires and decide whether they are truly worthy enough for their establishment. Besides satisfying their skepticism regarding an individual, hiring managers are required to perform this check or risk a potential lawsuit in the future for negligence. Other reasons to run a background check are not for official purposes but merely to find out if someone you know is telling the truth about their past or criminal history. These are two distinct different reasons to identify before running a New York background check.

Ultimately, criminal background checks are essential as they present sufficient information about an individual’s involvement with the law, enabling researchers to make informed decisions. Not all NY criminal background check resources are FCRA certified so make sure that if you’re running a NY background check for official purposes you must verify that it’s with a resource that can be used for official purposes. You should also note that not all background check resources can be used to employment hiring, tenant screening or other official purposes however, you can find out a lot about a person’s history by looking up their criminal history That being said, there are a multitude of resources that can be sourced for official NY background checks such as Good Hire or Experian. These FCRA certified resources come at a premium so it’s  make sure you have all the pertinent information on the person of interest before paying for these services. Many people in the United States have the same first and last names so a date of birth or other verifiable information is important so you’re looking at the correct New York background check for the correct person.

What is a New York Criminal Background Check?

Before diving deeper, it’s crucial to dissect the definition of a criminal background check thoroughly. According to experts, a background check is a term given to a process to verify an individual’s information, especially their involvement with the law, their vital records as well as most any other collected government information via the Freedom of Information Act.

The purpose of such an action is to verify a person’s legitimacy and deduce whether they are honest, transparent, and worth enough to fit in their establishment. Naturally, this process mostly occurs when an individual applies for a job. Most American employers perform this search to avoid potential lawsuits when misfortune occurs due to the new hire. Other people might use a background check for unofficial purposes to check up on a neighbor or date or co-worker. There are a multitude of reasons a person might want to run someone’s background in the state of New York.

Keep in mind that although companies have access to your legal history and past employments, the law sets limitations on what actions they can take base on such information, thereby preventing discrimination, irrespective of your criminal’s past

What is Included in a New York Criminal Background Check?

• Criminal History

• Court Case Records

• Arrest Records

• Court Sentencings

• Incarcerations

• Active Arrest Warrants

• Probation Records

• DUIs / DWIs

• Sex Offender Records

*Note: Legally sealed records are not reportable as well as juvenile, military and other background information deemed not public record

Where Can I Run A New York Criminal Background Check?

Suppose you’re an employer or regular individual to perform a background check on someone or yourself. In that case, one method is to request copies from the New York State police records via the Division of Criminal Justice Services. However, this copy is for personal record review and not for employment purposes.

Employers can complete an applicant’s Criminal record search through the New York Office of Court Administration. However, this type of report only shows pending cases and convictions within New York; therefore, other information like previous employment and education will not appear.

If you’re purely looking for a NYC background check for curiosity or to find out about a person’s history, not for official purposes, then you can use a 3rd parry public record resources like Search Quarry. These types of resources are great for running most any public record search anonymously.

What Are New York’s Laws On Criminal Record Discrimination

As previously mentioned, the government presents laws to prevent employment discrimination, regardless of an individual’s criminal history. Also, two main federal laws bind this rule; the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It’s also important to read the Freedom of Information Act of 1967 to find out more about what government collected information is accessible to the general public.

NY Background Checks and The Fair Credit Reporting Act

Enacted in 1970, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) aims to protect individuals’ privacy regarding the information gathered and used by Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs), especially during the hiring process.

This rule limits how much information a consumer reporting agency can access and disclose and regulates what knowledge employers and hiring managers can use to make employment decisions.

Under this act, Consumer Reporting Agencies are not permitted to disclose more than seven years of arrest information, especially if the arrest didn’t lead to a conviction. Additionally, issues like civil. Lawsuits, bankruptcies, judgment liens, and collection accounts older than seven years are undisclosable by Consumer Reporting Agencies.

Employers that wish to conduct criminal and pre-employment background checks must present a written notice to the applicant before proceeding with the action. In other words, they cannot unearth the potential hire’s past in New York without their consent

NY Background Checks and The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Under the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces landmark laws that prevent discrimination against applicants and employees in the workplace.

While this legal document prohibits discrimination based on race, sex, religion, and nationality, it also encompassed New York employment background checks. Essentially, it instructs employers only to assess criminal records and sort for information regarding the job being sought, nothing more. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has outlined a few factors for employers to adhere to.

Essentially, employers cannot base their hiring decisions on the following factors:

• Arrests or prosecution that never resulted in a conviction

• An initial conviction for affrays, simple assault, peace disturbance, drunkenness, speeding, or minor traffic violations.

• Misdemeanors with conviction dates older than three years ago, as long as new convictions didn’t arise during those three years.

• Any history of a court appearance that was sealed under state law

• Any factor relating to juvenile records, including a child in need of services complaints and delinquency, except the juvenile proceeded to an adult superior Court.

*Note: The law prohibits employers from frequenting a copy of probation or arrest records from job applicants. The same restriction applies to asking potential hires to sign documents, granting access to such information.

Ultimately, criminal background checks are prevalent in the corporate sector as it enables employers to understand applicants’ history and potential. If you wish to perform such a search for unofficial purposes, consider using a background information resource such as SearchQuarry.com, and search anonymously.