Should Complete Background Checks Be Mandatory for Service Workers?

How often do service workers enter your home to perform routine maintenance? Or cleaning? Or other personal services? We take it for granted that home service workers are trustworthy people. However, that isn't always the case. In fact, many companies don't require mandatory complete background checks before they hire service workers, which means you could have convicted felons working in your home, or worse--intentional criminals could be targeting your home next.

Shouldn't Complete Background Checks Be a Given for Service Workers?

Employment Screening Resources has reported some horrific stories about service workers who have worked for well-known and reputable companies that didn't perform complete background checks on their employees. In one case, a convicted sexual predator showed up for a fireplace repair job and was found chasing a 4-year-old little girl around the living room. It turned out the fireplace repairman had spent 15 years behind bars for his previous attack on another little girl.

In other accounts, convicted felons have robbed and/or attacked homeowners when they were supposed to providing some type of customer service. These kinds of events are inexcusable, and the use of complete background checks, including a national criminal background check is the key to protecting your home and your family.

Do Your Home Improvement Companies Use Complete Background Checks on their Employees?

There is no full-proof way to protect yourself from the above events. Even experienced private investigators and background check companies can struggle to get 100% accurate national criminal background search information. For one thing, criminal records data is input into different systems, varying by county, state, and federal complexes. Add to this the similarity between people's names, combined with the false identification that is often provided when felons apply for new jobs, it isn't always possible to have completely accurate information. We often see multiple alias in the results of our background checks.

That being said, employers in service-related industries, where their employees will be working within and around private homes and companies, should do all they can to protect the well being of their clients. Using a high-quality background check service provider is key to giving clients peace of mind.

Protect your home and your family

Here are steps you can take to protect your home and family when allowing service workers into your home:

1. Ask about complete background checks. Before you hire an HVAC company, landscape maintenance crew, or a home health care, ask whether or not the companies use complete background checks as a part of their pre-employment screening process. If they say yes, inquire further: who do they use, what types of things do they screen for, and how often do they continue to pull background check reports on existing employees. The more you ask, the more you will be able to tell who is being honest or not.
2. Run background checks on independent service providers. Hiring someone off Craigslist? Know a friend who has a friend who will give you an amazing deal on that remodel? That's great. But you should go ahead and take it a step further by hiring a professional background check service to run a complete background check. A few dollars spent now can save you time, money, and heartache down the road if it turns out they aren't as honest as you thought.
3. Do a quick social security number check. One of the first things you can do to verify an identity is to verify a social security number through that Social Security Number Verification Website. While it's true that people can be pretty savvy about stealing whole identities, in most cases, if they have a bona fide driver's license and a social security card with a matching name, and you verify it through the system, they are probably who they say they are.

Contact a California Private Investigator for you Complete Background Check Needs

Are you a business owner or homeowner who would like to run a complete background check on a prospective service worker? Contact Linked Investigations. Owner, Mike Garroutte, has worked as a Los Angeles and Orange County Private investigator since 1982. He takes background checks seriously, and will do all he can to provide the most up to date and accurate records possible.