Which background checks are right for retail businesses?

If you’re in the retail business, you know how challenging it can be to recruit, screen, and onboard new employees. Whether it’s a busy holiday season or not, you’re likely competing for the same workers as your competition.

Using the right background screening package for your retail employment positions helps support your organization’s efforts to optimize turnaround times and costs, while also mitigating risk to your business. It can be difficult, however, to know how to select and tailor the appropriate package for various positions.

Here’s a closer look at what to consider when choosing background checks; the most common types of background screenings used for retail positions; and how to customize Checkr’s pre-bundled background check packages to fit your needs.

The type of background checks you may need will vary depending on the different positions for which your organization is hiring. Creating and saving screening packages for each position boosts your team’s efficiency, and using background check packages as the basis for similar roles helps to ensure screening consistency across the organization.

When tailoring screening packages for different positions, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting information that is comprehensive and relevant to the role, but you also want to optimize for cost, turnaround time, and any compliance considerations. Consider which type of screenings:

In this blog, we’ll share examples of how to approach package creation, as well as how to do it in your Checkr dashboard. But first, let’s talk about your screening compliance and take a closer look at common types of background checks.

As a retail employer, you have important responsibilities when using background checks for employment. Developing a written background check policy on which screenings to perform for different job functions and how to handle individualized assessments, adjudication, and adverse action increases efficiency and promotes consistent, compliant background screenings across your organization.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has issued guidance on using criminal records in employment screenings and cautions that making hiring decisions based on criminal histories may have a disproportionate impact on certain protected classes. For example, blanket bans on felony or misdemeanor convictions, or considering arrests that didn't lead to a conviction, may have a disparate impact under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act which could expose your company to claims of employment discrimination.

When considering information included in a background check report, the EEOC recommends first conducting an individualized assessment of the circumstances around the offense. This includes considering the nature and gravity of the offense, its relevance to the job responsibilities, how much time has passed since the offense, and how old the candidate was at the time. Fair hiring laws in some state and local jurisdictions may also require individualized assessments.

Checkr makes it easy to conduct individualized assessments through our Candidate Stories feature. Built into the candidate portal, your job candidates can share additional context around a record, such as prior circumstances and efforts they’ve made to better themselves.

Following are some of the most commonly used employment background screenings for retail businesses:

First, a little background about the US court system and criminal records. The US has two court systems: federal courts and state courts. Violations of federal laws or those which cross state lines are often prosecuted in federal courts. However, most crimes involve state laws and are prosecuted in state court systems, which are typically county courts.

Usually a background screening starts with a nationwide criminal background check. Since there’s no national database containing all criminal records in the US, this screening searches available digitized criminal records from all 50 states, which may come from courts, corrections departments and law enforcement agencies, and other sources. It's important to note that only digitized records are included in the nationwide criminal database, and digitization efforts vary by state and the age of the records, so older records might not always be digitized.

The nationwide criminal background check is a fast, cost-effective way to cast a broad net. Which is to say, a nationwide criminal check is a good starting point, or what we call a “pointer” search, that Checkr uses to quickly find other records that should be searched. Results from a nationwide criminal search will determine which county records should be searched for criminal records, such as felonies and misdemeanors.

A statewide criminal records search, which quickly finds criminal records in the entire state, can be faster and more affordable than a county-by-county search. However, the thoroughness of this search may vary due to states’ differing laws and record-keeping practices. Some state databases do not search every county in the state; and some counties do not report to the state record repository. In these cases, employers may wish to conduct a county criminal background check for the most thorough results.

County checks are an important component of a criminal background check screening package since county courts are considered the source of truth for the majority of criminal records in this country. County courts are the most accurate, up-to-date sources of criminal records and most felony and misdemeanor cases are filed in county courts. Turnaround times and costs can vary, though, depending on whether records can be accessed digitally or whether an in-person visit to the county clerk is necessary.

Pass-through fees may apply in addition to the cost of a county criminal background check. Checkr passes these through to the customer directly from county courts and does not mark up any fees. Of the 3,200 counties in the US, approximately 10% charge a fee, which can range between $2-$10, though some charge $25 or more.

A federal criminal records check searches the nation’s courts for federal misdemeanor and felony records at the district level in the federal districts. Examples of federal-level crimes include bank robbery, fraud, embezzlement, drug trafficking, and kidnapping. Federal criminal records checks include data that might not be found elsewhere and are often used when hiring for senior roles or positions such as CPAs and financial and banking staff where crimes such as fraud or embezzlement are job-relevant.

Checkr’s criminal background check packages include a comprehensive search of domestic and international government databases for criminal histories. This Global Watchlist Records Check covers sources including the OFAC Sanctions list, the Interpol Most Wanted list, various FBI Most Wanted lists, the US Department of Treasury Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list, and the Department of State Sanctions list.

Onsite drug testing enables you to administer oral fluid drug tests at your work location with results available within minutes. Checkr partners with Premier Biotech to offer a fully integrated onsite drug testing experience using the OralTox rapid oral fluid drug test. By administering drug tests onsite, you no longer have to rely on varying clinic availability and lab processing times, enabling you to expedite hiring decisions.

Remember that federal, state, and local laws in your region may dictate whether a retail employer is permitted or required to conduct employment drug testing for a certain position, and if so, for which substances. Shifting marijuana laws, in particular, have many employers taking a closer look at their drug testing policies to make sure they remain compliant.

Employers may use employment verification to confirm the past positions a candidate has held and may help inform whether they have the experience and skills needed for the role. Checkr’s employment verification check confirms employment history within 1-10 years, either domestic or international. The results show the candidate’s dates of employment and titles held. An employment verification search is usually conducted using a combination of databases and manually reaching out to former employers.

Education verification searches education databases (or, if necessary, manually contacts a school) to confirm a candidate’s dates of enrollment and degrees obtained. Employers often verify education to help ensure a person has the appropriate degree, level of education, and training, or simply to see if the candidate is being honest about their background.

Most often used by employers hiring for retail store manager, administration, or finance positions, employment credit checks can help you get insight into a candidate’s history managing money. These checks can return information about bankruptcies, accounts in collection, and tax liens. Before running a credit check on a job candidate or employee, you’ll need to confirm you meet eligibility standards set by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

If you hire delivery drivers or for warehouse positions that may involve operating a vehicle, driving record checks can help you learn more about a candidate’s driving history. Motor vehicle record (MVR) checks provide information about a person’s license status, past violations, and safety record. If you employ commercial drivers to transport goods across state lines, you may also be required to conduct MVR checks by the US Department of Transportation (DOT).

Checkr makes it easy to choose and customize employment background check packages for all of your retail workers. Talking through job duties, potential risks, any industry requirements, and relevant background screenings with your HR team and legal counsel will help you determine which background checks make sense for which roles. Be sure to document your decisions in your written background check policy. You may wish to start with either Checkr’s Basic+, Essential or Professional package as your initial building block. Here’s what each package includes, as well as examples of how an organization might customize each package for different types of roles.

You may wish to start with either Checkr’s Basic+, Essential or Professional package as your initial building block. Here’s what each package includes, as well as examples of how an organization might customize each package for different types of retail employment roles. 

Both Essential and Professional packages include a nationwide criminal records search. As previously mentioned, this is a type of “pointer” search that may identify possible data in specific counties. When this happens, Checkr automatically kicks off a county criminal records search in those jurisdictions that have been identified in the nationwide criminal records search as having potential information.

Checkr makes it easy to create and save the background check packages you need for different positions. Always consult your legal counsel to ensure screenings fit your business needs.

Checkr makes it easy to customize and save packages for specific roles so you can easily run background checks for dozens or hundreds of candidates in a short amount of time.

Whatever types of background checks you require for your retail employment positions, Checkr can help you design the ideal suite of screening packages to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and provide accurate results that can help you make informed hiring decisions.