New York Background Checks

For New York employers, a background check on a prospective employee is more than a simple report; it’s an investment into your business and a way to protect your team and customers from the negative consequences of hiring someone unfit for the position. A background check allows you to assess the candidate’s qualifications, mitigate risks to your company, and helps you stay compliant with your industry’s regulations. Simply put, you cannot cut corners on New York background checks.At Accurate, our background checks tell you far more about a candidate than a public records or social media search alone. We can provide information about the person’s criminal history, verify their education and any degrees they’ve received, contact past employers to verify employment and job performance and check the current status of any professional licenses they may hold. This creates a more complete picture of your candidate’s character and qualifications, helping you better understand the person you’re considering bringing into your company.

Accurate’s New York background checks can be customized to fit your company needs and any relevant industry requirements. However, in general, we can provide you with any of the following:

• Identity verification
• Criminal history reports
• Employment verification
• Professional license verification
• Motor Vehicle Records check
• Sex offender registry check
• Sanctions and exclusions check
• And more

New York state background laws tend to be more involved and stringent than in other areas of the country. While we work to ensure compliance with relevant regulations when performing our background checks, employers in New York also need to understand the laws that apply in their area, and the areas in which their candidates live.

For instance, employers in New York State may not test for cannabis unless certain limited exceptions apply, including federal law conflicts. They also cannot take adverse employment actions based on off-duty cannabis use, which is also subject to specific exceptions.

Certain areas, like New York City, have laws that restrict how employers can use criminal information reported by background checks. That impacts the way employers can advertise jobs, assess an applicant’s criminal history, make final hiring decisions based on criminal history, and how they have to notify candidates at each stage of the process.

• Prior to a conditional offer of employment, an employer cannot state that a background check is required, unless an exception applies. The law defines prohibited inquiries and statements broadly, including those that express any limitation, directly or indirectly, based on a person’s arrest or criminal conviction.
• Employers cannot conduct a criminal background check until they have made a conditional offer of employment. Other types of background checks, like employment and education verification, can be conducted before the offer is made. However, any screening for criminal records, including a Motor Vehicle Records check, must wait until the other services are completed, evaluated and a conditional offer of employment is made. Background checks should be done in two separate and distinct steps.
• Employers cannot ask a candidate to disclose information about non-pending arrests that did not result in a conviction, nor can they deny them employment based on them.

New York employers also have additional requirements when it comes to the adverse action process. While it does follow along with the Federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requiring two separate steps (Pre-Adverse and Adverse) prior to denying a position to a candidate, there are additional requirements.

All employers in New York State who wish to deny employment to someone with a criminal record must include a copy of Article 23-A with the notices. And employers in New York City have a more stringent pre-adverse process. The New York City Commission on Human Rights has created a Fair Chance Act Notice form, which should be included with the pre-Adverse notice listing out the specifics of the criminal record(s) which may deny the candidate a job, the criteria the employer used in evaluating the record, and how the candidate can provide evidence of rehabilitation.

Understanding New York fair chance laws helps you reduce your regulatory risk and screen candidates quickly without sacrificing speed and accuracy.

If you’re looking for a thorough, comprehensive background check that you can trust when making your hiring decisions, Accurate can help. When you’re ready to start screening your candidates, we’ll guide you through the process of conducting your background check. Then, we’ll do the legwork and provide you with an in-depth, easy-to-use report of the information you’re searching for. Contact us today to find the right background screening solution for your business.

We recommend employers review and discuss with your legal counsel your organization’s policies and procedures to ensure continued compliance with the changing laws and regulations.