Employment criminal background checks are so common that most of us expect one when we apply for a job. Any job, from cashier to the Presidential Cabinet can require employee criminal background checks. However, most applicants are entirely misinformed about what can come up when a prospective employer engages in a criminal background check for employment.

It is vital that employment criminal background check consent forms are signed by the applicant before the investigation begins. Many companies completely overstep their boundaries when they conduct the investigation, as they do not necessarily have the right to check into every little detail of your life, unless they added in addendums to the original consent form. Technically, you should only be signing a consent form for a criminal background check for employment. An amended version will include access to your medical information, release the company to engage in interviews with neighbors, family members, former coworkers, and anyone else they feel will give them a feel for who you really are, and perform a basic background check that has nothing to do with a criminal history.

It is truly interesting that they call these investigations criminal background checks. While the consent form you sign for a pre-employment criminal background check is in fact going to result in a check into your criminal history, it also is highly likely that your history with the credit bureaus, your records with the state driver licensing agency, your educational background, and of course your employment history. This can include any worker’s compensation settlements or claims in your past, your transcripts, and the late car payments you made three years ago.

A potential employer is required to be clear about how in depth their criminal background check for employment. Usually, if you actually read the consent form that you sign you will find out exactly what the employer is planning on looking into. By law, the potential employer is supposed to have separate consent forms for pre-employment criminal background checks, medical history checks, and an in depth background check that includes neighbor and former coworker interviews. Most companies have started including all of their concerns on just one form, and technically they are in violation by doing it like that.

There is a chance that there will be either credit history errors or other errors that show up during an employment criminal background check and every potential employee has the right to fight the decision not to hire over a background check with misinformation. However, when you take a company to court they tend to be extremely hesitant when it comes to hiring you. It shows that you are willing to sue the company should anything go wrong. Since companies do not like to hire people that are suing them there is a good chance that you are shooting yourself in the foot by fighting a decision that was made based on an error. It is better to perform a pre—employment background check on yourself in order to check that your information is accurate.