Colorado-Specific Regulations: Employee Background Screening Compliance

Background checks are vital when hiring the ideal employee, yet pre-employment screening may seem complicated and complex. With this comprehensive guide to conducting background checks on potential employees, you will feel more at ease while making informed employment decisions. Get going today and give peace of mind a boost. Here are a few key considerations when conducting employment background searches in Colorado:

How Do I Get A Background Check In Colorado?

Before selecting any candidate for employment, conduct an extensive background investigation on them to ensure there are no red flags that would cause you to reconsider hiring them. How can one conduct a background investigation?

Information gathered through background check colorado comes directly from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation Department of Public Safety. Conduct a C.B.I. background search and gain more information about your potential candidates.

Before gathering records to use as evidence against prospective hires in Colorado, you should become acquainted with its policies and laws.

Colorado Background Check Laws For Employment

Ban-the-Box Law

Colorado's background check law emphasizes an application process which is just as essential.

Colorado is among 35 states which have implemented "Ban the Box," an initiative encouraging public employers not to require applicants who have been charged or convicted of crimes or felonies to disclose this fact on their application forms.

This policy seeks to be fair for job seekers with county criminal convictions backgrounds by waiting until they are considered qualified before conducting a deeper background check.

This policy seeks to limit automatic disqualifications from criminal record backgrounds and increase equality for those with conviction histories in the workplace.

Credit History Check Law

Once you begin conducting background checks on candidates, gaining information regarding their criminal history record, driving records, public record and credit scores may be essential.

There are regulations outlining who may pull and analyze an applicant's credit report and why.

Colorado employers only permit credit checks as part of pre-employment background screening in three situations.

It happens when:

The employer of a financial institution or bank has requested the report;
The law requires that the report be made;
The report directly relates to the position for which the candidate has applied.

As a financial institution or bank, conducting credit checks will enable you to determine whether candidates for jobs match up. It also accurately represents each candidate's experience for their respective position.

You should request a credit report of candidates if you're hiring an executive, manager, or federal agencies - this information can help guide your decision on whether to hire them.

Potential Employers must always have an acceptable reason for conducting background checks and disclose this information to candidates before performing one.

Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, business owners who rely on information found on credit reports when rejecting job applications must inform applicants in writing as soon as their decision has been reached. They must then explain why this occurred to make informed decisions.

Screen Your Applicant Now to Get a Complete Colorado Background Report

Colorado Clean Slate Act

On May 31, 2022, Governor Jared Polis signed the Clean Slate Act into law.

This law seeks to seal arrest records without conviction.

The following criminal records must be sealed automatically:

Disposition of Civil Infringements after Four Years
Seven years are allotted after final disposition for minor offenses or misdemeanors.
Ten years following final disposition or release from prison, any felony conviction is taken into consideration.

Violence cannot be sealed away.

Background screening providers cannot include information from sealed conviction records in background checks.

Equal Pay for Equal Work Act

Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act was enacted on January 1, 2021, and can be found within C.R.S. § 8-5-101 et seq.

Under the law, employers cannot discriminate in pay according to prospective employees' gender or any combination thereof and another protected characteristic. Private investigators cannot inquire into applicants' past salary histories during their application process and base offers of employment solely on this information.

Employers should inform existing employees about job vacancies, advancement opportunities and their respective pay scales. Private employers must assess existing pay inequities between genders to address disparate pay differences among employees.

Law on Name-based Criminal Records Checks

C.R.S. § 12-310-107, Under House Bill 19-1166, applicants who seek registration as professional occupations must submit fingerprints for background checking purposes as part of registration procedures.

Under current legislation, any applicant with an arrest and no disposition must undergo a court record search on their name to ascertain any changes in disposition.

Social Media and Workplace Law

Colorado's Social Media and Workplace Law can be found in C.R.S. § 8-2-127, which has been effective since 2013.

Employers cannot engage in activities such as these:

Request, demand or suggest to an employee or applicant they disclose their usernames, passwords, and any means to access social media accounts.
Requiring employees or applicants to add the employer as an online contact in their accounts.
Employers or their agents may gain access to social media accounts by mandating, asking or suggesting employees and applicants change their privacy settings.

Federal Laws

Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

FCRA restricts how consumer reporting agencies collect, store and distribute background check reports to prospective employers and how employers may utilize this data.

The information, over seven years old and pertains to jobs paying annual salaries of less than $75k, must not be reported by C.R.A.s.

Arrests that do not lead to conviction
Bankruptcies
Social Security Number
Civil judgments
Legal Advice
Civil lawsuits
Liens

This restriction does not apply to positions offering at least $75,000 annually or information about an applicant's education verification, employment history, etc.

Employers that discover during a background report investigation that an applicant's education history, criminal past is revealed will need to follow an adverse action process before deciding not to hire them.

Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination based on protected characteristics in employment verification, both among current employees or applicants and prospective workers.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance for previous employers regarding arrest and conviction data under Title VII.

Before deciding not to hire, an employer should carefully evaluate an applicant's criminal background as related to the job for which they applied.

Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act

Congress recently passed The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act as an amendment to the 2020 Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2020, and this law will take effect on December 20, 2021.

Federal employers and contractors cannot request information on criminal backgrounds, or motor vehicle records on job applications or conduct employee background checks before extending conditional job offers.

Run Your First Background Check Colorado Now by Signing Up to EBS Colorado

EBS Colorado - Your Colorado Background Check Partner of Choice

Feel confident you have chosen the ideal employee by running a background check in Colorado. Take notice of this critical step in the pre-employment background check process. Learn about their criminal, financial and educational histories and verify if they qualify for your position.

Employment Background Screening of Colorado is the premier background check service provider. Their comprehensive types of background checks services, fast turnaround times (one business day) and ease of use make using third-party background check companies such as Employment Background Screening of Colorado easier.

At EBS Colorado, we take great pride in finding you the perfect job candidates for every position. Our dedicated staff will do all the hard work necessary to find you the right employee.

2023-06-15 13:29:07