Employers may desire a background check for their employees before they join work. In some cases, a background check might be necessary, especially when the employee might work with vulnerable people or a job that requires a clean background.
There are several ways to run a background check in Oklahoma. There are several websites and businesses that will handle this process for you. Alternatively, you could use the Oklahoma government’s portal for accessing this service.
The state has a portal called CHIRP (Criminal History Information Request Portal), where users may request the criminal history of a subject. Chirp works with Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), which maintains fingerprint-based criminal history of a subject. The system works within parameters set by the Oklahoma Open Records Act.
Apart from criminal history of a subject, CHIRP also includes additional services like checking for the presence of the subject in the sex offender registry or violent offender registry.
This might be a convenient option for many people, though others might prefer hiring the services of a business that handles background checks.
There is a fee to be paid for each background check. The CHIRP portal currently charges $15 (and a $1 online convenience fee) for every request, though only limited to OSBI information. Checking other registries has additional costs. Charges may vary if you choose to use another business to run the background check for you.
Additionally, choosing to go for a background check requires being in compliance with federal and state laws.
The prospective employee must authorize the background check in writing. Businesses must follow this rule to stay compliant with federal FCRA requirements. The business should also be compliant with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and ensure that the background check doesn’t result in any discrimination for the subject.
Apart from federal laws, employers have to stay on the side of state laws as well. Oklahoma law requires that the employer pay for pre-employment screening tests. These include tests for pre-employment medical screening and drug and alcohol testing.
Employers cannot ask for social media information or sealed or expunged records.
Overall, Oklahoma Background Checks provide a robust and useful system that ensures reliable background checks for employers and easy access for the subject.