Driving Records:

When checking an applicant’s driving record for employment purposes compliance with federal and state laws is paramount.
The major law governing access and privacy is the federal Drivers Protection Privacy Act (DPPA).
Childcare companies that do a fair amount of annual volume may want to set up an account with a DMV reseller or contact the DMV directly to set up an account.
There a several state and legal forms a business must sign in order to have access to this data.
Some states require annual certification, the posting of a bond and others place restrictions in order to conform to state and federal laws.
For families who do not qualify for a reseller account, you can ask your applicants’ to provide a copy of their DMV record with their background check release.
Most will allow online record printouts with a small fee.
Use caution with any applicant supplied record it should be used as a last resort as it is always better to go to a third party vendor.

To check the status of a DL for free check out:

Florida – https://services.flhsmv.gov/DLCheck/

Idaho – https://www.accessidaho.org/secure/itd/reinstatement/index.html

Kansas – https://www.kdor.org/DLStatus/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fdlstatus%2fsecure%2fdefault.aspx

Massachusetts – https://secure.rmv.state.ma.us/LicInquiry/intro.aspx

Minnesota – https://dutchelm.dps.state.mn.us/dvsinfo/mainframepublic.asp

Nebraska – https://www.nebraska.gov/dmv/reinstatements/client.cgi

North Dakota – https://secure.apps.state.nd.us/dot/dlts/dlos/requeststatus.htm

Ohio – www.ohiobmv.com/abstract.stm

South Carolina – https://www.scdmvonline.com/DMVpublic/trans/DRecPoints.aspx

Washington – https://fortress.wa.gov/dol/dolprod/dsdDriverStatusDisplay/

West Virginia – http://www.transportation.wv.gov/dmv/Pages/dlverify.aspx

Wisconsin – https://trust.dot.state.wi.us/occsin/occsinservlet?whoami=statusp1

Reference Checks:

Many large and Fortune 500 companies are only providing references via an automated database.
For past employment verifications the Work Number is a source for over 5000 employers (see list on their site).

Reference Verifications

The Work Number www.theworknumber.com

Approximately 2000 employers use this service for their previous employment verifications.

Military Verifications

From time to time you will have an applicant with a military background. The standard way to verify military records is to ask an applicant for a copy of their DD-214.
This is the short name for “discharge papers” Employers should ask for “copy #4” which has the most information about the applicant’s military history.
If the applicant doesn’t have a copy you can request copy #1 which has the least amount of information. Have the applicant sign Form 180 and send it to the NPRC in St.
Louis MO. To obtain the form go to http://www.archives.gov/research/order/standard-form-180.pdf

Workers Compensation Records

Use caution with these records as they are usually ordered after a conditional offer of employment has been extended.
Under Americans with Disabilities Act an employer may not inquire about an applicant’s medical condition until a conditional offer is made.
To order you must contact the state Workers’ Comp Division and follow their procedures. Availability depends on the state; some require a specific form with a fee.
Some states take several weeks to return information while others prohibit the inquiry. States that do not allow access:

All states except: Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

For further information see the below link:

http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/regs/compliance/wc.htm

Civil Court Records

Another screening service option is civil records. Unlike criminal records civil records usually enter the court system as a law suit about money.
People can be found not guilty in a criminal case and be sued civilly and be found guilty.
This is primarily because the burden of proof is much different in a civil case than a criminal case.
The burden of proof is much less (preponderance of evidence vs. beyond a reasonable doubt).
Obtaining these records are similar to criminal record with a few exceptions.
Some identifiers in civil suits are not included in the court record which complicates matters if you have an applicant with a common name.
To confirm if your applicant is the actual defendant you must look for clues in the civil file (addresses/ employers/ specific unique references) in the civil case file.
This requires the pulling of the entire file at the courthouse where the case was filed.
Most online searches only provide the docket sheet which is a general entry on the case and not the specific file with motions and specific decisions.
This is why it is important to have record retrievers or a company that regularly accesses these records physically at the courthouse.
Some common civil suits are for: