Background Checks in the State of Connecticut

If your company conducts background checks on applicants in the state of Connecticut, state Substitute Senate Bill No. 1089 Public Act No. 07-243 affects you. Effective January 1, 2008 all Consumer Reporting Agencies (Background Screeners) must confirm criminal records found on those in the state of Connecticut (on a site provided by the state) before they can be reported to the employer. The CRA must also notify the subject of the report about the presence of the records being reported.

I am guessing that this is the state's way of slapping the hands of those that utilize commercial databases as the sole means of searching for criminal records and, or those that perform shoddy background checks. I come to this conclusion, because if you are performing on-site record searches and validating the records you find (the best practice method), this requirement is a redundant step. Because databases can contain arrest records, expunged records and can even reveal records that do not belong to the subject of a report unless the required authentication takes place an employer could be using information it should not be in the decision process.

To view the full version of this statute click on the link below:

Connecticut Substitute Senate Bill No. 1089 Public Act No. 07-243

FYI, the site that the state is supposed to be operating in was not up and running at the time of this post 1/14/08 (14 days after the law took affect).