Background Checks: How They Work and How They Impact Your Business – With Katie Kulp | Ep. #7

Stay informed on the process of background checks: the most important kind, how pricing works in the industry, and what screening legislations mean for your business.  Katie Kulp, today’s guest, is an expert in the industry and shares some insider tips and advice with us.  This episode is intended to entertain and ensure you stay in compliance, thus avoiding any legal issues that could arise. 

[03:35] – The differences between a state check, a national search check, an unlimited county check, etc…  AND the 3 reasons you might be conducting a background check.  

[10:16] – Which background checks to choose (hint: all 3 would be the most thorough), and how the industry prices them out.  

[12:49] – How the recent changes in legislation have impacted Background Screening companies like Chane and how they are managing them.

[14:49] – How should you expect your Screening Company to keep you updated on Legislation?

[16:55] – New federal and state PRIVACY LAWS. 

[18:13] – What to run and what resources to can use to ensure you’re in compliance. 

[21:51] – Chane Solutions and where to contact Katie Kulp.


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Transcript

spk_0:   0:00
welcome to solving temporary staffing problems. The Onley podcast, which helps you create winning MSP VMS programs that are efficient, comprehensive, and save you millions. Learn to enhance your current VMS MSP program or simply build your own with the absolute authorities in temporary staff. All right, welcome to another episode of solving temporary staffing problems. I'm Briana Strobel and

spk_1:   0:35
John Paul Renard,

spk_0:   0:36
and today we're joined by our wonderful gassed Katie Culp. She is an absolute expert in background screening and drug testing services, which is the topic of today background checks, how they work and how they impact your business. Now Katie has over 15 years experience in the industry. She is currently the vice president of operations and compliance at Chain Solutions. That's C H A N E Solutions. She has an impressive collection of certifications and experiences which make her an absolute expert in providing regulatory compliance and safe workplaces. So, Katie, how are you

spk_2:   1:18
doing? Great. Thanks so much for having me today. I'm excited to be here.

spk_0:   1:21
Cool. So just got to kick things off. I was gonna ask what led you to the background screening space. And what is it that you enjoy most about the work.

spk_2:   1:31
Sure. So it's kind of funny how it all happened. So I was in college. I was a criminal justice major. I've really enjoyed that. Uh, that's face. And I actually thought I want to be a police officer, but internship going wrong told me that no drug dealer on the corner is gonna be afraid of me. So, you know, probably not the running out for me to go. So I got a court research court record research, and it was the next day I didn't even without their I started doing that, and one thing led to another. And I really enjoyed, you know, kind of becoming the mechanism for making sure that employers had a safe place to work on and that their employees and their assets were protected as well and then often being able to be on the other side, they where you can also help consumers, you know, get jobs and help them through that hiring process. So it's kind of like the best of both worlds on your range with that.

spk_1:   2:22
That's also so you kind of stayed even though you didn't staying in in criminal justice. Somehow you went into a related type of industry as a career. Uh,

spk_2:   2:33
I didn't even know it was out here, so I'm really glad that I found it.

spk_1:   2:37
That's awesome. That's also, well, Katie. We have a bunch of conversation, a bunch of questions for you around this conversation because we know that the background check industry and drug testing industry vastly changes, and it's somewhat fluid based on legislation. Andi, I think that there's a lot of misunderstandings around background checks from a client's perspective on what their purchasing, how their purchasing those items. And I think that I get a lot of questions constantly about, like, what kind of background check? Three room. What kind of drug tests, you know from panel drug testing to what are we doing? A. Nationwide. Are we doing a state? Are we doing a county search? And I think having somebody like you to explain the difference is, you know, what are the purchasing differences in the purchasing options when companies are looking to do background checks? So what can they expect as a result based upon making those selections? And then I thought we would talk a little bit about the current environment on the covert environment and how that's impacting. But maybe if you can give the audience a little bit of an understanding of kind of the menu of items when you're doing a background check and maybe a drug test on someone, you know, what are the differences between a state? Check a national search. Check a unlimited county check. Can you? Can you explain that a little bit to the audience for us?

spk_2:   3:56
Sure. As you're saying it, I can understand why. You know, it could sound very overwhelming to employers on staffing companies, and the best place to start is really the first question I always ask employers when they call it out. Background checks is why are you running the background check in the first place? Typically, you do it for one of three reasons. One. It's because you're just doing your due diligence. You just want to make sure that you're protecting yourself and your employees of your assets on and in the event that you get a negligent hiring claim, you want to say, Hey, I tried to be the best that I could to make sure that this person was safe to be in our offices were asked about with our you know where we're placing them. Uh, The other reason is they're required to do it by their clients, and that often happens in the world of sick. Your client is required background checks. And in that scenario, my first question is, But what kind of background check is your Find your fire and your client will typically tell you what kind they want or they won't. And you're gonna be the answer that and that's kind of where we start on then the third reason is because the laws requiring or some sort of state law or state retirement, depending on the type of position that you're saving for, maybe there is, you know, child abuse required it, or fingerprinting requirements and the status saying, Hey, you need to check all these boxes in order to make sure that you're doing what you need to dio on. So that's always the first question comes and apply so that you know, okay, in the world of services you can offer for a background check. Which ones am I going to, what and which ones my even going to talk about? So the most common background check that most people will run is what most people call a national chest. We call it a multi jurisdictional, and that's because there really is no true national check. The multi jurisdictional covers millions of records from hundreds of jurisdictions close to 3500. I believe it is now, um, and is a database search. So it's bringing up records that you know more so criminal activity where the person may or may not have lived. But it's a pointer search. So it says out all these hundreds of jurisdictions. Here's where we think there may be some criminal activity, and then we take that what we find when we were on counting level searches to pull those records from verifiable sources. So a national search is really just that. It's a database search is a pointer search, and it's a blanket searches something every employer's Ron we recommend. It's everybody, um, the next common check attached to that. He's won a lot of people call the Social Security, trace the Social Security trace that you heard the address locator service for one of the scene on what it stooping is it's bringing up all the names and addresses associated with your candidate based on their Social Security number that they entered. And that is to meet the most important search that you can run in the background check because it's your discovering things about the candidate. But they didn't necessarily tell you, uh, you know, the names that they used 95% of the time background checks are done based on name and date of birth to start. And so if they're not giving you their correct name or the name that they use on official documents, the information that you get is only going to be so accurate and only so reflective of, you know, the actual history of that visit candidate

spk_1:   7:02
Katie, Can I interrupt you for a sec? Is that's a really good point. So if you're doing a national search and you're just putting in the name of a person and a date of birth, I think is what you said. So name a person and date of birth, E O. B. And let's say somebody misspells the name just entering it right, which is probably a common thing, right? Human era. I suspect that the outcome would be that there no negative files on that person because maybe because it's it's searched the database for that person. But that person actually doesn't even exist. Is that is that fair to say

spk_2:   7:42
it is there? In most cases, however, you know there have been. There's a lot of intelligence out there now where the system can often detect some sort of nicknames or reverse transposed digits. But where is going to become the most problem from the national search? Specifically is made of names, for example, or nicknames that we're not at all close to the actual name that you entered last names double last names, hyphenated last names, things like that. Whereas when you're on that Social Security trace, we might see that you run the national under, you know, Kimberly Jones. But when we were on the Social Security trade, we're gonna see that Kim Smith is actually who she is going by over life because she just got married. So if you don't search Instinet, your is actually not really running a background check or one that's really worked too much. Uh, and then she could also have a hyphenated last name begins with marriage rights on. So though all of those things are really important to make sure you're checking for so that national and the Social Security trace are the two most important ones and with that of even more important is your county level search, not someone you probably hear about them and that you're going to get the most accurate information about where the person care leavers eyes and you're currently, you know, you're normally looking for the last seven years as well, and not because of information that you get is going to be the most comprehensive and the most accurate would want a county level search. You're getting felonies and misdemeanors, and that's usually wear the most relevant records or cats at the count low.

spk_1:   9:11
Okay, that makes a lot of sense. So at the county level, the unique identify her again. Is the social then correct?

spk_2:   9:19
Typically, you're searching by name and date of birth at the county level.

spk_1:   9:23
Okay, so if you do like what they call that unlimited county search, are they using? So do you have to do that search along with the so security trace search, like buy them separately.

spk_2:   9:36
So the Social Security kind of driving those county surgeons the social choices saying, here's the names and addresses they you know, the names they've used in the addresses they lived at. So now we're gonna order all the county services associated with the names that come up for the life. Seven years. And I thought they looked over the last seven years when that candidate may have only told you. You know, I've only lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, my whole life. And my name is Kim Jones. And in reality, it's not at all in that Social Security traces gonna tell us that behind the scenes. And we use that to order both additional county surgeons.

spk_1:   10:10
Okay, so yeah, I think so. I think in complete completely makes sense. So if you're doing if you had to, like, put in order from top to bottom the most Cheryl and using like unlimited county or national database search and I have a follow up question on that, Um And so you would say regardless of the order that you put those in, you got

spk_0:   10:36
to do to

spk_1:   10:36
so security. You got to do all three, okay? And there's a price difference on using all three in comparison to just cherry picking one of them correct?

spk_2:   10:46
Typically, yes. Now again, I'm speaking from an industry perspective. Every every bathrooms for any company prices differently. They bundled things differently. But most of the time, every bathrooms training company will tell you we can't guarantee any price at the end of the day. And that's typically because even if you know what searches, you're running depending on how many counties they lived in, how many names they use and what court fees might be, associate it with the given counties that you perform. It's sometimes fluid on. Those aren't always prices that we have control over as backgrounds. Great company. They're drinking by the record.

spk_1:   11:22
That was my next question in regards to what's driving the differences in pricing per state cause, like, I'll see the same type of search that you do in Indiana. You do that same search in New York and in New York it's 10 times more expensive. What drives that pricing is that the court

spk_2:   11:38
fees right? So if you're just running a national accounting and Social Security trace, those fees don't really come into play as much. There are County Corky's but Booth usual referring to our for statewide searches. Specifically, statewide searches are basically database searches most of the time being pulled from the statewide repository, and every state repository is different. So in Florida, the FDA Ellie typically, which is a part of department law enforcement and pencil being at my state police. But in North Carolina, it's an old county search sort of thing, and so that these are given depending on where the records are being told wrong. And those are being driven by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement or in Pennsylvania Patch, which is the Pennsylvania State Police. And in Pennsylvania. It's, I think, $22. Now. New York is the highest one. I think they were at 60 some dollars last year. And then there Waas something passed. A change that 95. So that hurt her.

spk_1:   12:41
Yeah, for sure, for sure. So

spk_0:   12:43
can you can you go

spk_1:   12:44
into a little bit? Well, let me let me pivot this way. There's a lot of legislation continuously changing right that's impacting background checks and drug tests and how they're administered and when you can and when you can't and things like that has has the changes within legislation, something that is impacting your business and how

spk_0:   13:08
do you

spk_1:   13:08
manage that? How do you manage the changes within legislation?

spk_2:   13:12
Sure. So, yes, the legislation definitely impacts our business in ways where you know, we talked to her, our customers and our partners and let them know about things that are changing that could affect the way that they're doing business. For example, legislation is often pass in states and cities, saying, You know, you cannot run credit reports on employees that were coming into the company. Some of them are just construction. Some band them completely, and there's always exceptions to every rule themes. And so if you're hiring for a position for the start of a lot of money, that made me okay, now you can run credit reports even though the rest of the day fans on so that impact our clients and you know, our customers because we will make sure that they know that they need to be careful and say Help orbit Burke. There's also, as you probably recently, more drug testing legislation that's really starting to change in New York City. I think it's on many tense the law goes into effect where you're not allowed to test any longer on employees, for physical, for marijuana. Um, and that's really important, something our customers will need to know. And again, there's always exceptions. And so even though we complete our customers in the right direction, there are still things that they need to make sure that they're thinking about considering for the own business of running, because they could be the exception. They may not be until we close our customers through that how we manage that by communicating with our customers. We were always sending out notices and compliance. Why eyes and things like that?

spk_1:   14:49
Yeah, I was gonna ask, How do you provide the the guidance back to your customers? Do you, like, update your website? Do you do it, You know, provide just general information. Do you send some news lettering out to your customer base to give them a heads up? That something is changing legislation that could impact the way that they're handling drug tests and backgrounds. How do you guys do that?

spk_2:   15:09
Right? There's a lot of the place to do that we do. We use so many methods of communication. Mostly, we blast email notices constantly to our clients of anything that's really important. We try to put me right, you know, bright letters in the subject line. Exactly what? Its about hopes that you know, that if I see you are not, our inboxes are awful. Were posting on lengthen were posting blocks for sending out monthly newsletters. So we try to let our customers know what as many ways as we can. I I personally am, um, the four liaison for the PBS I, which is the professional background streaking association on the board liaison to the Government Relations Committee and in that committee were constantly keeping track of current legislation all of our legislation coming down the pipeline. So it's really beneficial to our organization being, you know, one of first to know what's coming and being able to make sure that we try and get ahead of it and notify our clients and so that they're prepared to handle it when it gets here.

spk_1:   16:09
So I'd imagine like the value that you provide is not just the administration of running background checks and drug screenings, but also providing guidance and information back to decline beh so that they are managing this complicated category properly.

spk_2:   16:30
Absolutely. That's it. That's a huge part of what we dio. That's my favorite part of, you know, every day when I'm doing in the offices, consulting clients, talking to them about, you know, what should I dio? What should I not dio? And even though you know we're not necessarily giving legal advice, were pointing them in the right direction, we're making sure that they're considering, you know, starting things that are most important.

spk_1:   16:52
Sure, yeah. In regards to legislation I've seen, there's, ah lot of new legislation around privacy laws. Can you do? Have you seen an impact in your business around managing privacy laws? I know California's got some new privacy laws on information you can share and that you can't share. Andi. I know that there's been some some conversation in Congress about these federal laws around privacy. Can you Do you have any experience of that? Can you give us an idea how you how you manage that as well?

spk_2:   17:22
Your privacy is a huge hot topic in the industry right now. There's a lot of we actually expected to be a lot more privacy walls coming down last year, but not much happened other than the CCP a, which you were referring to in California. The California Consumer Seat Consumer Privacy Protection Act. I believe this. It's kind of still moving along. There were some amendments to it on and as part of the government relationship, it maybe we're actually submitting comments and trying to make sure that you know it was going in the right direction for, you know, consumer reporting agencies and employers to make sure that, you know, work, protective. But privacy and general is something that we're always being we're always involved in. We always have to make sure that, you know, we have security and things like that. So, yeah, it's it's always something that we're trying much.

spk_1:   18:12
So, Katie, if you had to give our audience some advice on how, like, what? To run. Ah, and what resource is they are the audience should use to ensure that their in federal and state compliance on how they're running their background checks. Um, what would it be? Give us Give us an idea like you go to a client. You say this is how you should be running your background check. This is the type of background check. If you're looking for the most feral, it should be. This this and excluding, Let's say, government agency, right, cause government agency has your rights, right? So that's that's kind of a different animal. So just private sector right commercial business. Um, what? What advice would you give from like what you should be running and how you should be keeping updated in regards to legislation to ensure that you're doing the right thing and what you should be preaching out to your supplier base.

spk_2:   19:06
Sure, so the most comprehensive best practices background check that every employer should be running at a minimum. If the drive for the background checks is simply due diligence and make sure that you're saying I ran a good background check would always be to run your Social Security trace would be to run. You're carrying a county level search on the name provided, and it would be your multi jurisdictional that some people call a national. And then you sure that your background training agency is reviewing the Social Security trace and ordering all of the counties for the last seven years that this person has resided in under all of the names that this person is used in the last seven years, that is the best background check for my perfected that you can run. It's so long as your client is your world is not requiring something issue at a minimal. Not but you should be doing. And then to make sure that they're saying on top of any checking state federal local legislation that could affect them and the type of background checks that the running it is really most important. Number one, that they at least have legal counsel or available to them. Teoh, check. Hey, I'm hiring somebody in a new area. We picked up a client or a California What do I need to worry about on your legal counsel? Should pointing in the right direction. But in terms of being able to have guidance, your background training companies should also be able to point you in the right direction. They typically aren't getting you legal advice all the time, but then you should be, you know, pushing out those notices. I'm letting you know what's changing, and you should be able to call them and they can say Hi, here's what you want to make sure you're not doing in California, or you've said you want to run this check. But you know what? I'm gonna advise that you don't do that because there really are restrictions there on credit reports. Unless you have to.

spk_1:   20:46
I got it. That's really, really helpful. I think that was fantastic. You didn't give Katie a my social Security number. Did you run a background check on Katie? That was super super helpful. I think that our audience really struggles with this category quite a bit, and we get a lot of questions around it on. And then we see contracts to come in that are non compliant, typically that are coming from our customers. And we go, Wow. You know, And like you, we want to advise were not the legal authority for them. We want them to again address legal. So they're making good decisions, but we want to provide them. Resource is an advisement so that they're on the right track. So we really thank you for participating because I think that your message is really, really going to resonate to the audience for sure. Do you think?

spk_0:   21:41
Yeah. Yeah, it's been excellent Yeah,

spk_1:   21:46
that's great. That's great. So wrapping up with Katie. Katie, can you tell us a little bit about change solutions? Where could people find you? And can you just briefly tell the audience the services that you provide?

spk_2:   22:01
Sure. You bet. So we are consumer pouring agency and drug testing company. So we we can run every 40 background check that you could almost imagine from colonel checks. We handle employment, verifications, education, verifications, which are important in addition to the criminal as something that you should also be giving in some way, shape or form references. And on the drug testing side, you know, any sort of panel physicals, occupational health. We handle those as well on. We can help manage those programs to learn more about us. You can go to our website at jane solutions dot com. And as Brianna mentioned it, ch a any solutions dot com on and you can call our office, you can ask for me. I'm happy to help guide you and help build restricting program. Um, the best we can.

spk_1:   22:46
So we could ask for Katie Culp directly. And you promise you won't share my background check with Briana? She will use it

spk_0:   22:55
against me. That was great. That was very helpful. Thank you so much for joining us, Katie. It's been a NAB Salih. Incredible episode of solving temporary staffing problems. We thank you so much for being here. I'm Briana Struggle.

spk_1:   23:16
I'm Jean Pouring are

spk_0:   23:17
and we'll talk to everybody next time. Thanks, Katie.

spk_2:   23:20
Thanks.

spk_1:   23:21
Take care, okay?