Employment Background Check

[longhungjohn33]

I am interested in applying for a job in loss prevention. I know that they perform background checks, but how in-depth are they? I resigned (quit) from my last employer due to accusations of theft and I was outraged and told the manager right there on the spot I quit. I was never interviewed or spoken to by any LP (the accusations came from the manager).

Anyways, the manager and I have had our fair share of problems in the past and I know he will give me a bad reference. So my questions are this:

Are employers restricted on what information can/cannot be given out during a reference check from another employer? If so, what are the restrictions? Can the employer performing the reference check only ask certain questions?

If an employer violates any of these restrictions (if any), what can I do about it?

Also, should I list my previous employer in my work history on the application for LP at my potential new employer or should I should I not list it? I'm just worried if I don't list it and they find out I worked there, it will look bad. On the other hand, if I do list it and they give me a bad reference which I dont deserve, again I get screwed.

Any advice, help, info greatly appreciated! ( I live in Michigan by the way!)

[cbg]

An employer may give any information that is true, that they honestly believe to be true, or that represents their honest opinion. The only information that the law prohibits them from giving out is certain medical information that they may have in your records. It is a myth (a persistant and widely believed myth, but a myth nonetheless) that employers are limited in the information they can provide. The prospective employer can ask for any information they feel they need.

Absolutely you should list this job. Omitting it from your application is considered falsification of your application, which is grounds for disqualifying you from consideration if caught before you are hired, and immediate termination if caught after you are hired. And trust me, it is FAR easier for this to get caught than you may think.

Your best bet is to tell the prospective employer up front that you are not likely to get a good reference from this employer, and why (without badmouthing him, which I admit can be tricky). What prospective employers hate most of all is being blindsided. A single bad reference is not the kiss of death many employees think it is. If no one was ever on bad terms with a former employer, no one would ever leave their jobs. If you can provide someone else from the employer (a supervisor, a co-worker, someone in HR) that can provide you with a good or at least neutral reference, so much the better.

And that actually leads to another point; for many employers, it is not the manager but HR that gives references. Are you absolutely certain that the prospective employer will even be talking to the manager who dislikes you?

[panther10758]

Many employers give limited info like yes he worked here from thsi date to that date and made X amount of $. If that all your ok. Now the theft accusation is jsut that an accussation. Were you arrested or charged? If no then it wont show up on background check. However LP work would require you to stop theft! If word leaked out of this accussation it could cause problems. I am uncertain (based soley on your information) that LP work is good plan for you. All that being said unless new employer get thats info from old employer you should be fine!

[cbg]

panther, an employer can still say he was fired for suspicion of theft, since that much is technically true. It won't show on a CRIMINAL check if he was not arrested or charge, but the reference checks from an employer are still part of a background check.

[panther10758]

I am not disagreeing. As I said "many" (not all) employers give very limited info! In fact some employer dont even contact former employer for that reason. One should not assume they know that is true! If former employer is contacted they yes he "could" say he was fired for theft! However if employer says nothing or jst minimal information then without a theft arrest he should be in clear. Personally I would like to hear the detail sof the alledged theft!

[longhungjohn33]

Thanks for all the advice/comments. I was not fired, I quit on my own. The fact that my employer did not trust me was grounds for me not to work for them. I was not the only person confronted with this alleged theft, and I was not the only one who quit because of this.

I do have another question though; when I am filling out an application for another job and I put down my last employer that I just quit from, if I check the box that says "No" concerning whether or not they can contact my previous employer, are they still allowed to call? I will of course put down a good reason on why I don't want them contacting the previous employer, but can they do so anyways?

Like I said before, I never stole anything and I never have in my life; I've seen too many of my friends get caught up in that shit to follow in their footsteps...but I don't want my previous employer's "allegations" to haunt my future job opportunities.

P.S. I recently did received my credit report from Equifax and it says under "Employment History" that I have no employment history. Does this mean that there is no record of where I have worked at in the past years? or is still possible for them to find out?

[panther10758]

Thanks for all the advice/comments. I was not fired, I quit on my own. The fact that my employer did not trust me was grounds for me not to work for them. I was not the only person confronted with this alleged theft, and I was not the only one who quit because of this.

I do have another question though; when I am filling out an application for another job and I put down my last employer that I just quit from, if I check the box that says "No" concerning whether or not they can contact my previous employer, are they still allowed to call?I am unsure of that I would think not. However when I was doing hiring I put applications that mark no on bottom of pile and rarely called for interview. What that tells hiring manager is you have something to hide. I will of course put down a good reason on why I don't want them contacting the previous employer, but can they do so anyways?

Like I said before, I never stole anything and I never have in my life; I've seen too many of my friends get caught up in that shit to follow in their footsteps...but I don't want my previous employer's "allegations" to haunt my future job opportunities.

P.S. I recently did received my credit report from Equifax and it says under "Employment History" that I have no employment history. Does this mean that there is no record of where I have worked at in the past years? or is still possible for them to find out?

Things like that are slow to get documented. You have to realize the large number of data that needs to be processed everyday. These things take time

[cbg]

Sorry for the confusion over quitting/fired.

Legally, yes, they can still call even if you mark No. And to be honest with you, checking No, a particular employer cannot be contacted, is a MAJOR red flag with most employers. You are far better off listing the employer and explaining up front what they are likely to hear. They may choose not to, but saying no, don't contact them, without explanation, is going to make them imagine something much worse than the actual facts, I promise you.

The fact that Equifax does not show any employment history only means that nothing in your employment history has been reported to Equifax. It does not mean it does not exist. Clearly it does; as soon as you complete an application form that asks for previous employment, there is it. Equifax (or other credit reporting agencies) are by no means the only access to information. Yes, it is quite possible for them to find out even if Equifax doesn't have it. In fact, I've had information fall into my lap about former employees even when I was not looking for it. If you're thinking of just leaving this employer off your application and hoping for the best, I advise you in the strongest possible terms not to do so. A gap in your employment record is also a major red flag, and a lie of omission is still a falsification of your application, which is grounds for disqualifying you for employment (or immediate termination if you don't get caught till after hire).

A single bad reference is not the kiss of death. If all your other references are good, or at least neutral, a single bad reference can, and usually is, overlooked.