Employers use several tools to build a qualified workforce. Among these tools are background checks. These screenings help employers practice effective recruitment by delving into a potential hire’s history and evaluating their suitability for the job.
Background checks gather useful information about an applicant’s criminal, employment, and education history. Employers must understand the intricacies of the screening process and the laws that govern it before implementing it within their organization.
This guide covers everything you must know about Arkansas background checks: what they reveal, how much they cover, how long they take, and how they’re affected by laws.
What Is an Arkansas Background Check?
An Arkansas background check is a screening tool used to study an individual’s past. Employers use these checks to verify an applicant’s identity and examine information relevant to the position.
Employers typically include background checks during recruitment to ensure they make the ideal hire. Background checks comprise several searches that confirm a candidate’s credentials and investigate their past. These searches highlight a candidate’s qualifications and provide valuable information beyond what’s supplied on a job application.
Employers also implement screenings within their company. These screenings may be more extensive based on the role in question. For example, managerial roles require more responsibility than entry-level positions, so managerial candidates usually undergo more scrutinized examinations.
Employers use more thorough screenings to fill caring positions, too. People in these positions, such as EMS personnel, caregivers, and first responders, work with vulnerable populations, including children and the elderly, and must be properly vetted to protect those communities.
A thorough background check program encourages a safe workplace, improves productivity, and reinforces a company’s reputation. Arkansas employers must include the appropriate searches for the given roles within their industry to onboard the ideal candidates. Common search types include criminal and civil records checks, education and employment history, and identity verification.
What Shows up on a Background Check in Arkansas?
Arkansas background checks show information based on the search type conducted. Search types include, but are not limited to, criminal and civil history, education and employment background, and Social Security number traces.
Criminal History: Criminal history checks detail a candidate’s pending criminal cases and convictions, including offense date, type, and severity. While criminal records do not necessarily disqualify candidates from employment, they can influence hiring decisions.
Civil Court Check: Civil court checks reveal a candidate’s lawsuits, foreclosures, restraining orders, and other civil cases. Employers tend to use these checks to fill financial and managerial roles.
Education Verification: Education verification confirms a candidate’s past schools, including institution names, addresses, contact information, attendance dates, and certificates awarded. These checks highlight a candidate’s honesty about their schooling.
Employment Verification: Employment verification affirms a candidate’s past employers, including their names, addresses, contact information, dates of employment, and positions held. These checks can reveal gaps in employment or omitted employers.
Credit Background Check: Credit background checks examine a candidate’s credit history, including payments, accounts in collection, and bankruptcies. Employers use these checks to fill positions requiring financial responsibility.
Identity Verification: Identity verification reveals a candidate’s name, address, Social Security number, and date of birth. This check ensures the applicant is who they claim to be and curbs identity theft. It reveals if a stolen identity has been used to apply.
SSN Trace: Social Security number (SSN) traces search a proprietary database with prior names, addresses, and birth dates linked with the SSN provided. These searches develop an address history for the applicant and note potential alias names and birth dates. SSN traces utilize non-confidential header information recorded when a candidate uses their SSN, such as for credit cards, loans, mortgages, and utilities. These traces are used for identification and shouldn’t be considered in hiring decisions.
Professional License Verification: Professional license verification shows a candidate’s professional license details, including issue date, license type, expiration date, and validity. Employers use this search type to fill positions requiring specific credentials. It ensures the candidate is qualified and avoids negligent hiring claims.
Motor Vehicle Records Check: Motor vehicle records (MVR) checks show a candidate’s driver’s license information, traffic violations, and points or suspensions. Employers use this search type to fill positions requiring vehicle operation. These checks ensure a candidate is qualified and insurable.
Sex Offender Registry Check: Sex offender registry checks verify if a candidate is a registered sex offender at the time of the search. These searches show the offender’s aliases, address, state of conviction, and physical characteristics. Employers use these searches for roles that involve working with vulnerable populations, such as children.
Pre-Employment Drug Test: Pre-employment drug test programs encourage a safe and efficient workplace. These programs typically consist of a 5-panel drug test that detects amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, PCP, and THC in the candidate’s urine. These tests screen for a candidate’s recent drug use, but cannot tell if they have abused substances before.
Social Media Check: Social media checks gain a more relaxed view of candidates. While not typically included in screening programs, employers may use these checks to study an individual’s behavior outside of the workplace.
How Far Back Do Background Checks Go in Arkansas?
According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), background checks can go seven years into an applicant’s history for civil lawsuits, judgments, liens, accounts in collections, and arrests. They can go ten years back for bankruptcies.
The seven-year timeframe only applies to positions paying less than $75,000 a year. Employers may view information from when the applicant turned eighteen for positions offering more than $75,000 a year. Employment, education, and professional license records have no limitations.
How Long Do Background Checks Take in Arkansas?
The time it takes for a background check to produce results depends on the extent and type of search conducted. For instance, federal-level searches of a candidate’s criminal history may take a day to return results, while a more extensive search through state and county levels can stretch the process to several days.
Manually conducting background checks can prolong the process significantly. While digital records can be accessed fairly quickly, reaching out to past employers, searching through court records, and cross-referencing information can be very time-consuming.
The speed at which criminal history checks yield results is based on the extent of the search and the jurisdictions involved. Federal-level searches can return results in a day, but employers may include state and county-level searches for a more comprehensive view of an applicant’s criminal history. These searches can take several days to deliver results.
The process can also be delayed by working with multiple jurisdictions and international searches. Turnaround times are further influenced by record digitization and court efficiency.
Employment Verification
Employment verification can take a matter of minutes if the applicant’s work history is stored in The Work Number. If not, manually verifying records can take one to three business days. The time it takes to receive results depends on past employers’ urgency to respond, the extent of the applicant’s work history, and whether international employment is included.
Education Verification
Education verification can produce results anywhere from a few minutes to a few days. Information found in the National Student Clearinghouse can be accessed within minutes, but records that can’t be found online must be accessed directly from the applicant’s past schools. Communicating with institutions and verifying records can take a few days, depending on the registrar’s willingness to respond.
Motor Vehicle Records Check
Motor vehicle records (MVR) checks can produce results within minutes if the records are stored online. Otherwise, employers must submit an MVR check request through a government agency. This request must be made through the mail, meaning the process can take weeks. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration stores driving records digitally.
Drug Testing
Drug test results depend on the type of test administered and the laboratory’s processing times. Rapid tests can deliver results within a few hours, but more accurate tests yield results in one to three business days. Positive drug tests are typically met with another round of screening, prolonging the process further.
Arkansas Background Check Laws & Requirements
Arkansas employers navigate background checks based on the federal, state, and county laws that apply. Some employers are required by law to conduct background checks, while others introduce screenings to promote a safe and efficient workplace. Arkansas employers must be wary of the applicable laws and regulations before implementing a screening program.
Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is a federal law that limits the information reported by consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) for employment background checks. Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), this law is intended to protect consumer privacy.
Under FCRA guidelines, CRAs cannot report protected information older than seven years for positions offering a salary of less than $75,000. Protected information includes arrests without convictions, civil lawsuits, accounts in collection, liens, and judgments. CRAs cannot report bankruptcies older than ten years. Jobs offering a salary of more than $75,000 are exempt from this restriction.
Consumer reporting agencies can report all other information about an applicant. Arkansas employers partnering with a background check company to implement a screening program must adhere to FCRA guidelines. Employers must notify applicants of their intent to conduct a background check and receive written consent to do so.
The FTC also guides employers on how to handle negative information found on background check results. Employers must perform the adverse action steps and provide applicants with their FCRA rights before denying employment based on background check results.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title VII is a federal law protecting applicants from discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces and guides employers on handling arrest and conviction records found on background check results.
Under EEOC guidelines, employers must assess each criminal record individually and determine its relation to the job before denying employment based on screening results.
Social Media Law
Arkansas’s social media law prohibits Arkansas employers from the following:
Requiring, requesting, or causing an applicant or employee to disclose the username and password to their social media account
Requiring, requesting, or causing an applicant or employee to change the privacy settings of their social media account
Requiring an applicant or employee to add another employee or employer to their contact list
Discharging, disciplining, or threatening an employee for refusing to comply with the clauses above
Refusing to hire an applicant for refusing to comply with the clauses above
Suppose an employer inadvertently receives login information to an employee’s social media account through the use of a device provided to the employee by the employer. In that case, the employer is not liable for having the information, but may not use the information to gain access to the employee’s account.
Sealing of Criminal Records
Under Arkansas Code Annotated § 16-90-1417, candidates with sealed criminal records do not have to disclose that information to employers. Candidates can legally deny being convicted of the sealed crime.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Arkansas Have a 7 Year Rule?
While Arkansas does not have its own 7-year rule, Arkansas employers must adhere to the federal seven-year lookback period established by the FCRA.
Background Checks Strengthen Hiring, Reduce Risk, and Maintain Compliance
Background checks help employers recruit qualified personnel, but can be tricky to understand. Implementing a screening program can present challenges, from deciding which searches to include to understanding which laws to be aware of. Partnering with a reputable background check company can provide up-to-date results while ensuring compliance with legal regulations.
ScoutLogic streamlines the screening process with quick and accurate results. Our background check services handle your every need and produce valuable results to help you recruit the right people for the job while maintaining compliance. Learn about our screening services and contact us today.
David Garcia, co-founder and CEO of Scout Logic, is an industry leader in the bulk background check world. With his strategic acumen and expertise in the HR sphere, specifically in hiring, recruiting, legal compliance, background checks, and resume screening, he’s an invaluable asset and consultant.
David's counsel extends across the boards of ScoutLogic, YipitData, and Supplier.io, drawing from his impactful stints on the boards of Infutor and Avetta. With an extensive 25-year journey, he champions unparalleled B2B commercial leadership within data & analytics, significantly shaping the HR landscape.
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