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Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

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Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#21

Post by justherefortart »

lawnchair_larry wrote: post #14
owenversteeg wrote: post #10

The demo on the website is pretty interesting, especially with the amount of information they can get. The "previous salary" was pretty interesting - is that something that companies actually check? Also, is there a risk of abusing this? What information does Checkr need to run a report, and how do they verify that the person they are running the report on is actually applying for the relevant position?

They try to get salary, but often don’t get it. I’ve been asked for salary info on former employees. Equifax also owns a company called theworknumber, which your employer voluntarily provides with salary information. The standard language in background checks gives them permission to obtain it through any means, including asking your bank how much your direct deposit is, or asking your credit card company what your s…

If you're paid through ADP or any of the big payroll companies, they're sharing your information. It's wonderful.

Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#22

Post by hobofan »

josefresco wrote: post #19
rusbus wrote: post #13

Maybe now they can buy a vowel. I say this only half as a joke. I recently had to use checkr. The first thing they ask you for is your social security number. Typing your social into a box below a misspelled URL isn't a super comforting experience

Founded in 2014, which makes the choice of name even more peculiar. Didn't the "dropping vowels" naming convention die with "Web 2.0"?

With a lot of good brand and domain names already taken, it is alive and well.

Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#23

Post by learc83 »

justherefortart wrote: post #21
lawnchair_larry wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They try to get salary, but often don’t get it. I’ve been asked for salary info on former employees. Equifax also owns a company called theworknumber, which your employer voluntarily provides with salary information. The standard language in background checks gives them permission to obtain it through any means, including asking your bank how much your direct deposit is, or asking your credit card company what your s…

If you're paid through ADP or any of the big payroll companies, they're sharing your information. It's wonderful.

ADP's privacy policy says this.

>Unless directed by our clients, we do not share employee information provided by our clients with third parties. When directed by our clients, we communicate company employee information to third party service providers such as payroll service bureaus, insurance companies and third party administrators, among others.

According to that, they'll only do it if directed by your employer.

Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#24

Post by RoboErectus »

exhilaration wrote: post #3

I'm surprised to see that property rentals isn't listed under their "Industries" tab. I guess "Checkr is for every business" except that one. If anyone's curious, I use https://www.e-renter.com/ for background checks on prospective tenants and https://connect.experian.com/ for credit checks.

Launched this week:

https://www.zillow.com/marketing/rental-manager/tenant-scree...

Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#25

Post by rhizome »

learc83 wrote: post #23
justherefortart wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're paid through ADP or any of the big payroll companies, they're sharing your information. It's wonderful.

ADP's privacy policy says this. >Unless directed by our clients, we do not share employee information provided by our clients with third parties. When directed by our clients, we communicate company employee information to third party service providers such as payroll service bureaus, insurance companies and third party administrators, among others. According to that, they'll only do it if directed by your employer.

It doesn't say whether it's opt-in or opt-out, that is: I don't trust their use of the word "directed."

Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#26

Post by leahcim »

owenversteeg wrote: post #11
orange_county wrote: post #5

I used to work in the background screening company before switching careers. The background screening process is very tedious, each state and sometimes counties keep records in their own way. If you are lucky, you can easily just search for the person’s case online, however many times they only allow case searches over the phone. I’m wondering how Checkr handles that since it’s not an easy thing to scale. Even lookin…

Maybe that's outsourced to another company that does a ton of calling? I agree, I'm also very curious the various ways they obtain data.

Are they using Upcall for calling?

Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#27

Post by FilterSweep »

owenversteeg wrote: post #10

The demo on the website is pretty interesting, especially with the amount of information they can get. The "previous salary" was pretty interesting - is that something that companies actually check? Also, is there a risk of abusing this? What information does Checkr need to run a report, and how do they verify that the person they are running the report on is actually applying for the relevant position?

This is a horrific thought to go into a job interview with one salary point in mind while the employer knows in the back of their mind what you got paid at each previous job.

Particularly if you took equity at a startup at lower salary - guaranteeing they don't account for that.

Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#28

Post by RoboErectus »

erichurkman wrote: post #17
orange_county wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depending on regulations of this, I doubt they can resell. Especially if each background check is done days apart from each other. You may run into a scenario where a felony case was recorded in between background checks.

I'd love if they could re-use data to temporary supplement checks that take a long time. Some background checks can take _ages_ for certain counties, especially if they were a city/county employee, a police officer, or lived in some rural county that only does background checks via paper or fax and their city office is only open 10am to 3pm two days per week. If Checkr could tell me immediately, "We submitted the req…

Here's the process to find criminal records in San Francisco:

1) Walk into the courthouse

2) Go find which binder has the first letter of the last name of the applicant

3) Flip through the dot-matrix printed green/white reams of printed papers to see if someone with a first and last name has a court record

4) Write down the case number on a form with a bunch of other info

5) Go wait in line and hand it to the clerk

6a) If it's a record they have, you can go into the back and view it with a clerk watching to make sure you don't steal or adulterate the record. It's the only copy.

6b) If it's not in the courthouse, they'll tell you to come back in a few days while they pull it from the archive.

7) If you had many records to pull, some courts will restrict you to a max of 1-2 per day. So you either have to send lots of people, or just wait. Some courts like Santa Barbra can take 120+ days.

This is true for lots of counties in the US, and it takes getting involved in local politics to fix it. A lot of Americans can't make rent if they don't get their next paycheck, and a long background check can be really stressful.

It's a hard problem, but it's getting better. I could go on :)

Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#29

Post by FilterSweep »

justherefortart wrote: post #20
luckydata wrote: post #18

Whatever they do, they can't do worse than HireRight, the company with the most hilariously bad reviews I've ever seen in my life. https://background-check-websites.no1reviews.com/user-review... and https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/hireright-to... and https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2012/08/emplo... They are the fucking worst.

Wow, that's comical and sad at the same time. I have a few friends that would always pass background checks in spite of having some issues in their past. Maybe this is how they lucked out.

It's quite sad that we (collectively) consider this "lucking out" - I don't want to assume your friends situations, but our collective consciousness leaves a permanent mark on their life for past mistakes.

And checkr is even more help in the saturated background check industry.

Re: Background checks pay for Checkr, which just raised $100M

#30

Post by Justin_K »

luckydata wrote: post #18

Whatever they do, they can't do worse than HireRight, the company with the most hilariously bad reviews I've ever seen in my life. https://background-check-websites.no1reviews.com/user-review... and https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/hireright-to... and https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2012/08/emplo... They are the fucking worst.

I used Checkr once for screening an employee and had a terrible experience. After two weeks, the check was still pending as they had to do some sort of manual process with the courts in Los Angeles to complete it. I didn't find their service useful because of the delays and was promised many times that the report would be done shortly. Eventually I gave up and went to another service. I asked for a refund after about two weeks and was told NO, because the check had already been initiated. I don't think it's an acceptable SLA (two weeks or more) for a background check - most services turn these around in a couple of days.
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