More and more American employers are starting to rely on background screening services to help them out with their recruitment process. Hiring new employees can be a challenging task, not only because qualified talent is hard to come by, but also because it exposes companies to a risk of negligent hiring.
Florida background checks can drastically reduce this risk and also flush out the candidates with false claims in their resumes.
As a result, running background checks has become the norm not only for employers, but landlords, firearms dealers, and other individuals required to exercise due diligence when conducting their business.
Having said that, remaining compliant with all the rules and regulations related to background checks can be a challenge of its own.
Let’s have a quick look at some of the most important laws associated with background checks and what rules they impose on the people that request them.
Florida Background Check Laws
Two of the most important laws regulating background checks in the USA are the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the laws that fall under the Ban the Box umbrella. These national standards advocate fair and accurate reporting, respect for the subject’s privacy, and equal employment opportunities for everyone.
As such, they don’t regulate background checks directly, but allow each state to create its own laws and adopt the values that they stand for. Consequently, each of the 50 states in the US has its own background-checking laws and regulates these screenings somewhat differently.
Florida, in particular, has quite unique background-checking laws that stand out from the rest. Let’s have a look at them.
The FCRA and the Florida Background Check Law
As a federal law, the FCRA in Florida is implemented statewide, and both the parties who request the background check, and the providers who conduct the background checks, must comply with the limitations it imposes.
More precisely, its limitations restrict
- What background-checking companies can report about the screened subjects
- How can employers use the information obtained from the reports in their hiring decision
Here’s a brief summary of what rules Florida employers must follow when conducting a background check on a potential hire:
- Employers must inform the candidate that they plan on running a background check on them and that the information obtained from it may impact their hiring decision.
- Before running background checks in Florida, employers must get written consent from their applicants.
- After receiving the background check report, employers must provide their subjects with a copy of the report, and allow them to dispute it if they find any inaccuracies.
- Employers must disclose if a candidate gets denied the job opportunity based on the information found in the background check report.
The limitations imposed on background screening companies are mainly associated with how far back can background checks go and what information they can and can’t disclose in their reports. We will cover more on this later in the article.
Ban the Box Laws in Florida
In the state of Florida, background check Ban the Box laws are not adopted statewide, but instead, they are implemented locally. This means that some counties have Ban the Box restrictions, while others don’t. Furthermore, in some cases, the Ban the Box laws impose stricter limitations than the FCRA, so they supersede them.
In counties where Ban the Box regulations are enforced, employers are not allowed to ask candidates about their criminal history in the job application form, or during the job interview.
The following cities and counties in Florida have Ban the Box laws in place:
- Gainesville
- Broward County
- Jacksonville
- Tampa
- Fort Myers
- Tallahassee
- Miami-Dade County
- Orlando
- Two Pinellas County
- Clearwater
- St. Petersburg
- Sarasota
- Daytona Beach
Other Important FL Background Check Laws and Limitations
In addition to the FCRA and Ban the Box regulation, other laws that are worth mentioning include:
- The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act – which is a federal Ban the Box law that prohibits all public sector employers from requesting candidates to disclose their criminal records in the job application form, or during a job interview.
- The 112.011, Fla. Stat. – which prohibits public sector employers from denying job opportunities to candidates with low-level criminal convictions. Public sector employers can deny candidates with felonies and misdemeanors that directly relate to the job position in question.
- The 768.096 Fla. Stat. – which is a background check policy in Florida that protects employers from getting sued in case of negligent hiring, if the employer has run a background screening on the candidate and it didn’t report any red flags.
Overall, running a background check on an applicant as an employer and remaining compliant with all the laws and regulations around it can be very difficult. For this reason, many Florida employers decide to hire professional background screening companies that ensure no law is being broken.
What Shows up on a Background Check in Florida?
A background check can reveal information on multiple areas in the subject’s past, including their criminal history, past employment, education, driving and credit history, etc.
That being said, many people often confuse the terms and use ‘background check’ when they actually mean a ‘criminal background check’. While it is true that most background screenings will search the criminal records of the subject and report on them, a pre-employment, tenant, or healthcare background screening usually report other information as well.
Let’s have a look at the different types of Florida background checks and what kind of information they report.
Florida Criminal Background Check
Some public sector employers in Florida, notably in the healthcare and childcare services, are obligated by law to conduct criminal background checks on all applicants they consider hiring. The background checks for these sectors are also known as FDLE background checks, as they are the only checks that the FDLE can conduct.
On the other hand, private sector employers can only run such screenings by hiring criminal background check service providers and they can’t ask the FDLE to do it for them.
The information reported in the criminal background check depends on how comprehensive of a screening the employer has requested, level 1 or level 2.
What Is a Level 1 Background Check in Florida?
Level 1 background check is the most basic screening that employers can run on their subjects. It is done by using the name of the candidate and cross-referencing it against the criminal records in the Florida database, and the Florida sex offender registry.
In some cases, a level 1 screening may provide information on the subject’s past employment and credit history. Please note that since level 1 is a basic background check, it will not provide too many details about the offenses, and it will only report the essentials.
What Does a Level 2 Background Check Consist of in Florida?
A Level 2 background check is a much more comprehensive screening than Level 1. It uses the subject’s fingerprint to cross-reference it against the criminal records of the FBI, which means it searches for information nationwide. Additionally, it will check the sex offender registries from all over the US, not only in Florida.
In short, a level 2 background check will report everything that can be reported with a level 1 check, but it will also report information that is outside of the level 1 background check’s range.
Is There a Level 3 Background Check in Florida?
Florida state law does not recognize the term Level 3 background check. As a matter of fact, what Florida law refers to as a level 2 background check is a screening that exists all over the USA, but in other states, it’s usually referred to as a fingerprint background check.
That said, it’s not unusual for background checking companies to use terms such as Level 3 or Level 4 background checks. Some companies like to use these terms to illustrate the comprehensiveness of their screenings, even though they are not terms recognized by Florida law.
How Far Back Do Background Checks Go in Florida?
The period examined in Florida criminal background checks is not restricted by any state or federal law, which means that background screenings can go back indefinitely in the subject’s past.
However, in counties with Ban the Box restrictions, background checks can only report within the time frame imposed by the local law.
Additionally, in accordance with the FCRA, background-checking providers in Florida can only go back for:
- Ten years when reporting on Title 11 bankruptcies
- Seven years when reporting on arrest records and civil suits and judgments.
- Seven years when reporting on paid tax liens and collections
How Long Does a Background Check Take in Florida?
The time needed for a background check to be completed in Florida varies significantly, depending on the information required.
While checking the state records for criminal histories can take up to seven days, cross-referencing against local court records can take much longer as the research process is much more complicated.
On the other hand, most Florida background-checking companies advertise that they can finish a complete pre-employment background check in between a few hours and two days.
How Much Is a Background Check in Florida?
Conducting a criminal background check with the FDLE costs $24, though it will only report on information from the criminal records of the subject.
Professional background check companies can provide information on everything an employer might need to make a better hiring decision, including:
- Education verification services
- License and credential verification services
- Past employment verification services
- Reference check services
- Driving history check services
- Credit history check services
- Social media screening services
Furthermore, these providers can run checks for different purposes, including background checks for landlords, firearms dealers, etc.
Their monthly plans usually cost between $25 and $75, but for people with specific requests, most of them can create a custom plan.
The Bottom Line
In summary, employee background checks in Florida are necessary for multiple reasons. They allow employers to hire the most suitable candidates, protect the workplace and existing employees, and protect the company and employer from negligent hire lawsuits.
In addition, they serve other purposes as well and are frequently used by lenders, landlords, arms dealers, and even spouses.
Hiring a trusted background-checking company is an affordable way to get the needed information to get peace of mind and screen subjects in compliance with the law.
