Engaging in a pre-employment screening program demonstrates your company’s commitment to due diligence and can offer protection from negligent hiring lawsuits. Negligent hiring is defined as an employer's failure to exercise reasonable caution when hiring an employee. Now more than ever, juries are holding employers responsible, legally and financially, for the actions of their employees and declaring that employers are legally responsible for what they know and should have known about their employees.
Think about the following statistics:
Employers have lost more than 79% of negligent hiring cases
More than 53% of job applicants falsify information on their resumes
The average “bad hire” that leaves a company within six months costs the company approximately $40,000 in severance pay, training, wasted human resource time, possible search firm fees, loss of productivity and impact on employee morale
In 2008, 73% (12.9 million Americans) of illicit drug users were employed either full or part time
FBI Studies estimate nearly 355,000 businesses will experience a workplace violence episode in any given year
By implementing a pre-employment screening program, you are demonstrating your commitment to safe hiring practices through due diligence. That same due diligence can further make you feel more confident in your hiring decisions knowing that all relevant information about an Applicant has been verified before making an offer of employment. Also, when Applicants are aware that your company maintains a pre-employment screening program, it encourages truthfulness within the application and interview process, while also discouraging those Applicants with something to hide.
Why outsource pre-employment screening?
Besides being a time consuming and detailed process, employment screening demands specialization and resources. Further, keeping up to date on compliance issues and legal regulations affecting the employment screening process can be a full time job.
By partnering with a professional employment screening provider, employers can implement a screening program that is efficient, compliant and cost effective
Information You Can Trust
Expert staff of investigators and researchers
Use of primary data sources and the most up to date information
Walk-in, hands-on county-wide criminal and civil searches
Guidance on background information and FCRA compliance
Unsurpassed Customer Service
Personal Account Manager assures accuracy, consistency and timeliness
Account set up conducted by your Account Manager within hours
Your telephone calls answered by an account representative
Industry leading turn around times
Each assignment tailored to your specific requirements
User Friendly Web-Based Technology
Online access to ordering, tracking and retrieving of reports 24/7
Real time status updates and automatic daily data backup
User-friendly navigation
Multi-location/multi-user accounts with selected levels of access
Share reports with other authorized users
Highly secure log-in system and complex password requirements
Secured through 128-bit SSL encryption, multiple firewalls, security monitoring and intrusion detection software
Convenient Online Reporting
User-friendly navigation menu
Option to view pricing before ordering
View and print invoices online, via email, facsimile or mail
Summary and structured report sections clearly identify findings
Receive automatic notifications when reports are completed
Immediate retrieval of archived reports
Full compliance with Fair Credit Reporting Act
Competitive Pricing
Customizable screening solutions; no confining packages to choose from
No set-up fees, monthly charges or long term contracts
No minimal usage requirements; volume discount pricing available
No software or hardware needed
How will Mega Group Online keep me in compliance?
All of Mega Group Online procedures are in full compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and all other federal, state and legal standards. Further, Mega Group Online ensures our client’s compliance by keeping abreast of the industry’s ever-changing regulatory and compliance laws and providing our clients with all FCRA notices and disclosures as well as current state and federal notifications and forms. With the guidance of our employment and labor attorneys, we ensure that this diligence protects your Applicants’ rights as well as your best interests as an employer.
We encourage clients to subscribe to our social media sites where current updates in the areas of human resource and labor law are regularly posted.
What is Mega Group Online’s typical turnaround time?
Turnaround times for screening reports vary depending largely on the information requested; however, at Mega Group Online we strive to complete reports in three business days or less. Many searches, such as credit reports and criminal database search results are instant so you can begin to see a picture of your Applicant forming right away.
Mega Group Online reports contain summary and structured sections which clearly identify findings. You will never be provided “cut and paste” raw data in one of our reports as Mega Group Online maintains the motto “research before report” which is applied to every instance when records come back with a positive hit. Some screening companies do not verify records before reporting, which has led to several lawsuits against screening companies from Applicants who were denied employment because of erroneous records.
Delays can and do occur however, and examples of delays include the following:
County courthouse record retrieval delays. At anytime, clients can access a list of county courthouses currently experiencing delays online on the Mega Group Online website.
Department of Motor Vehicle records in some states are subject to delays.
Difficulties reaching references and verifications, including previous employers and professional and personal references. Delays occur when individuals are unreachable, do not return messages left for them or no longer maintain relevant information.
Education verifications are subject to delays based on holidays and extended breaks.
We understand that information that is provided to us can be incomplete, erroneous or missing. We do not feel however that this should slow down the screening process, and Mega Group Online maintains an impressive track record of locating/verifying necessary information so as to avoid delays for our clients.
What does a Mega Group Online background check typically cost?
Pricing depends on the services you receive, but on average, a comprehensive, thorough pre-employment background check costs less than a new employee’s first day on the job. When compared to the fact that the average award in a workplace violence lawsuit exceeds $1 million per case, the cost of screening is minor.
Does Mega Group Online offer volume discounts or special packages?
Clients receive volume discount benefits when they order 500 or more reports per calendar year, and the higher the volume, the greater the discounts.
In reference to packages, Mega Group Online strives to provide all our clients with the best background screening experience possible and to do that, we consider each client’s needs on an individualized basis. Many of our clients prefer the simplicity and consistency of ordering pre-determined packages for their employment screening; whereas others enjoy the flexibility of ordering reports via an a la carte plan. And we even have a few clients who order both ways. No matter the manner, we are always happy to accommodate whatever ordering method works best for our clients. Please review our suggested package options
Please explain Mega Group Online’s technology and data security?
Mega Group Online utilizes a highly secured web-based system that is available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. MGO provides live, personalized and interactive training on how to use our ordering system at your convenience and at no cost to you.
Data is secured through a 128-bit SSL encryption, multiple firewalls, active security monitoring and intrusion detection software. Our data is backed up daily, and we maintain a highly secure log-in system with complex password requirements and security questions that change every 90 days. You further have the option to customize the level of access each user has to the Mega Group Online system.
Other facets of our technology and data security include:
Instant ordering and real-time tracking of your Applicants
100% web-based with no software or hardware required
HR-XML Certified Platform
Applicant Tracking capabilities
Simple and effective data management tools
Instant, online archive of reports
Statistical reports available including turnaround time reports
Option to view report cost before ordering
Scalable system with ability to fit an organization of any size
In an effort to protect the personal information contained in credit reports, Mega Group Online adheres to national credit bureau requirements to conduct site inspections prior to granting access to Applicant credit information.
The inspection is conducted by a trained third-party who understands exactly what the credit bureaus require, are timed to accommodate your schedule and can generally be completed within a week of initiating the process.
Much is being discussed about nationwide (and in some instances “regional" or “statewide”) criminal database searches, and their use in pre-employment screening. Yes, they maintain a wider coverage area than a county criminal search and can help identify those hard to find criminal records that are located outside an Applicant’s counties of residence or employment. And yes, the results are instant. But criminal database searches are not an effective primary search for records. Why? Because a database criminal records search consists of limited records from state departments of corrections, county courts, prison systems, sex offender registries, etc. that are compiled from databases, and as a general rule, databases are notorious for being out of date, incomplete, and simply inaccurate. Many criminal records are missing from databases, and when records are present, identifiers are often removed from the record, making a positive association with your Applicant a guessing game.
Conducting your criminal research on-site at the court house is by far the safest and most legally compliant method of conducting criminal research. Mega Group Online always recommends that you conduct this on-site County Criminal searches in all counties an Applicant has resided in within the last seven years.
How should I best use a criminal database search?
When a nationwide criminal database search is run in combination, or tandem, with an on-site county criminal records search, it can help identify those hard to find criminal records that are located outside an Applicant’s counties of residence or employment and a more comprehensive and valuable background report is created without a significant increase in cost or turnaround time.
When an employer receives a pre-employment screening report (also known as a Consumer Report) and decides not to hire the Applicant based on the information contained within the report, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires the employer to notify the Applicant that they are taking adverse action as a result of the information contained in the prepared Consumer Report. Adverse action in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) as defined as a denial of employment, or any other decision for employment purposes, that adversely affects any current or prospective employee.
Also as required by the FCRA, the employer must also provide two separate notices; first a pre-adverse action followed by an adverse action letter. The employer must additionally provide the Applicant with a copy of the report and allow the Applicant the opportunity to correct any inaccurate information contained in it.
My Applicant is disputing an item in their background report, what do I do now?
The Applicant should contact Mega Group Online and ask to initiate a dispute; and we will take it from there. In compliance with FCRA rules, we will re-verify the disputed information and notify both you and your Applicant of our findings.
