Background checks could have problems
More and more employers require employee background checks, which is why it's no surprise more and more private companies are popping up offering to provide them.
But our Target Five Investigation shows it can be risky business.
A bad background check nearly cost Eric Williams a job.
"I was all set to start work," Williams said. "They said they would call me back and give me a start date, and I never got a call back, so I called them and they told me your background check came back with stuff on it."
Lots of stuff in Shelby County. Two felony convictions for aggravated assault, several misdemeanor assault convictions, disorderly conduct, probation violations and months-worth of jail time.
Williams' prospective employer had hired Data Facts Incorporated of Cordova to run the background check based personal information provided by Williams.
Still, the report by Data Facts showed someone else's record. Same name, same birth date, different Eric Williams.
"They told me with a name as common as mine I should know to tell them to use my social security number in the background check," Williams said.
The Shelby County Sheriff's Department, which keeps track of County criminal records, verified Williams' clean record, and says it's often asked to re-run inaccurate background checks provided by private companies.
Shelby County Sheriff's Office Commander Helen Wren told us, "We may have that at least, I'm going to say three or four times a week it's a possibility that that could happen."
Because the thousands of private companies in the background-check business rely mainly on public court record searches.
They don't have access to law enforcement files and databases which include social security numbers and fingerprints.
Wren said, "This is why they're pretty desperate when they come into us and say I need this corrected, please check this and tell me what information you have on file, because this is not me."
In a written statement to Action News Five, Data Facts, Inc. told us it "provides thousands of reports annually. In relation to the large number of background screens provided, Data Facts has received relatively few complaints that inaccurate information was provided. Moreover, in any situation involving a complaint, Data Facts immediately investigates as it did with Mr. Williams, and takes immediate corrective action."
In this case re-running Williams record using his social security number. It turned up clean and Williams wound up getting the job. A happy ending but one with a warning.
"Don't just assume they're going to do it right, because they might not," Williams said.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act protects employees if an inaccurate background check is provided by a private company.
It allows employees the opportunity to contest the accuracy of a report before an employer makes a hiring decision.
Story taken from the following website: http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=3597434
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