Fingerprint Checks Suspended Amid COVID-19: Employer Options
Many fingerprint background check providers suspended services during COVID-19. Here are the alternatives employers used to keep hiring safely.
Many law enforcement agencies in the United States and Canada began suspending services such as fingerprint collection and background checks for employment purposes to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Employers and non-profits that rely on fingerprint checks for hiring purposes in areas where these services were suspended experienced indefinite delays.
While these changes undoubtedly affected many organizations’ ability to screen candidates for essential roles during the outbreak, alternatives were available that could limit hiring risk. Many courts and federal agencies around the country remained open, allowing their public access terminals and databases to be used to access criminal history records. For employers unfamiliar with criminal record searches, an accredited background screening partner can pull these records on their behalf. Many screening companies continued operating and providing FCRA compliant results for name based searches, with some able to provide detailed reports within one to two business days so employers’ teams could be staffed more quickly.
This post reflects guidance current at the time of its original publication in March 2020, during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
If your organization was affected by fingerprint service restrictions, let us know if we can help, or learn more about our fingerprinting services.
