Apex Systems: Hiring, Background Check & Employment Verification FAQs

Apex Systems was founded in 1995 in Richmond, Virginia, by Brian Callaghan, Win Sheridan, and Jeff Veatch, who met as students at Virginia Tech. It began as a local staffing agency and expanded into a global technology services firm offering strategy, transformation, and managed services across application development, data, enterprise platforms, cloud and infrastructure, and cybersecurity. The company remains headquartered in Richmond.

Apex Systems has been part of a larger public parent since 2012, when On Assignment, Inc., later known as ASGN Incorporated, completed its acquisition of the business. ASGN changed its corporate name to Everforth, Inc. effective April 24, 2026, and moved to the New York Stock Exchange ticker EFOR, unifying its portfolio of brands under the Everforth name. The staffing business is now presented as Everforth Apex, and candidates will encounter both the Apex Systems and Everforth Apex names during the hiring process.

The firm reports more than 70 branch offices serving local customers across the United States, plus international resources in Canada, Europe, Mexico, and India. It states that it has more than 4,000 internal employees and over 18,000 consultants actively working on assignment at any given time. Client work spans commercial industries including banking, healthcare, and retail, as well as government engagements, and the firm maintains alliances with major technology platform partners.

There are two distinct categories of worker to understand. Internal employees include recruiters, account managers, delivery leads, and corporate staff who work for the firm directly. Consultants are placed on assignment at client sites or remotely and work in roles such as software engineering, cloud and infrastructure administration, data analysis and engineering, cybersecurity, enterprise platform configuration, project management, and IT support. Which category a candidate falls into shapes what screening looks like.

Company culture and employee programs:

Staffing and consulting work is relationship-driven, and internal roles are typically measured on recruiting activity, client satisfaction, and delivery outcomes. The firm publishes career resources covering resume building, interview preparation, and technical skill development, and runs webinars aimed at consultants navigating the contract market. For consultants, day-to-day experience depends heavily on the client site and the length of the engagement, and benefits eligibility for contract workers is usually tied to the assignment. Candidates should confirm employment classification, benefits, and assignment length with their recruiter before accepting an offer.

Yes. Employers in the staffing and IT services industry, including Apex Systems, are legally permitted to conduct pre-employment background checks on job candidates as long as they follow applicable federal, state, and local law. In the United States, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) governs how consumer reports are requested and used in hiring, setting requirements for standalone disclosure, written consent, and the adverse action process. Staffing firms carry an added layer, because the client company a consultant is placed with may impose its own screening requirements as a condition of the assignment.

Apex Systems is generally reported to conduct background checks before placing consultants and before hiring internal staff, which is standard across the staffing industry. Consultants are given access to client networks, source code, and in many cases regulated or confidential data, and clients commonly require documented screening before granting that access. The specific scope of an Apex Systems background check is not published and may vary by role, by client, by industry, and by whether an assignment involves government work or regulated data.

The Apex Systems hiring process usually begins when a recruiter contacts a candidate about a specific requisition or when the candidate applies through the firm's job board. A recruiter screen covers technical skills, rate or salary expectations, work authorization, and availability. Candidates who match are submitted to the client, which may run its own interview loop, sometimes including a technical assessment. Once the client selects a candidate, the firm extends a conditional offer and the candidate completes onboarding paperwork, including a disclosure and authorization form for a background check and often a drug screen. Start dates are typically set after screening clears and any client-specific requirements are satisfied.

How long a report takes depends on which searches are included, the responsiveness of the courts and agencies involved, and whether the candidate has lived or worked in several places. A large share of checks finish within a few business days, while multi-county criminal searches and verifications that depend on third parties can add time. For a fuller explanation, see background check turnaround times.

The scope is set by the employer and, for consultants, frequently by the client company as well. A background check for a staffing placement may include some or all of the following:

Because requirements can differ from one assignment to the next, candidates should read each disclosure form carefully rather than assuming a prior placement's screening carries over.

How far back a report reaches is set by the search type and by state law, not by a single national rule. The FCRA generally restricts consumer reporting agencies from reporting most adverse information older than seven years, though convictions and higher-salary roles can be treated differently. A number of states narrow that further, so candidates with history in multiple jurisdictions may see the lookback vary search by search.

Apex Systems has not published a detailed policy on applicants with felony records, and staffing firms generally handle criminal history case by case. The added complication in staffing is that the client also has a say: a client company may set its own eligibility standards for anyone working on its systems or premises, and those standards apply independently of the staffing firm's view. Factors that commonly matter include the nature and recency of the offense and its relationship to the work. Many states and cities have "ban-the-box" laws restricting when criminal history may be raised and requiring an individualized assessment, and Virginia, where the firm is headquartered, has adopted fair-chance provisions of its own. Candidates should be accurate on their application and ready to discuss context.

The most common requirement is written authorization. Employers generally provide a standalone disclosure explaining that a background report may be requested, along with a consent form the candidate signs. Candidates should expect to give their full legal name, date of birth, Social Security number, and a list of prior addresses, since address history determines which courts get searched. Consultants should also expect to provide documentation supporting work authorization and, for some engagements, to complete client-specific onboarding that may include additional forms or fingerprinting.

The FCRA is the federal statute that sets the ground rules for employment background checks. It obliges employers to obtain written permission before ordering a report, to follow a two-step adverse action process that includes sending the candidate a copy of the report and a summary of their rights, and to allow time for the candidate to dispute anything inaccurate. This overview of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) explains how those protections work alongside EEOC guidance.

Often, yes. In staffing, the client company sets conditions for anyone who will access its systems, facilities, or data, and those conditions can go beyond what the staffing firm would otherwise run. Financial services clients may add credit checks, healthcare clients may add sanctions and exclusion list screening plus immunization records, and government engagements may require a security clearance or a public trust determination handled through a federal process rather than a commercial background check. A recruiter should tell a candidate up front which requirements attach to a particular assignment, and candidates are always asked to consent before any additional search is run.

Running a personal background check with Checkr lets you preview what Apex Systems may see and gives you a chance to spot inaccuracies before they affect your application. One secure report covers:

Create your report in minutes at Checkr Personal Background Checks. To share verified credentials with recruiters and hiring managers proactively, build a free Checkr Profile.

Check your report status in the Candidate Portal. You can also visit the Checkr Help Center for FAQs, dispute steps, and support contacts.

The resources and information provided here are for educational and informational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Always consult your own counsel for up-to-date legal advice and guidance related to your practices, needs, and compliance with applicable laws.