Essex County, New Jersey

Essex County has a population of about 800,000 with nearly one-third of its citizens residing in Newark, the county and state’s most populous city. Nearby counties include Bergen, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, and Union. Major Essex County employers include Prudential Financial, Port Newark, and Panasonic.

Essex County draws tens of thousands of commuters to work daily even though its population has declined over the past decade. Employers may have luck enticing job applicants to the county to apply for open positions. However, such movement across county and state lines means that interviews won’t tell you all you need to know about an applicant. Instead, resources such as criminal background checks are essential supplements to your hiring procedures. 

Applicants who seem highly qualified on paper may have checkered pasts. Search for criminal history information and weigh it against what you already know about the applicant, then make a fair decision about whether they pose a negligent hiring risk to your business. 

How do you find this information? Search for data in Essex County courts first. If you find a criminal record at this step, you might reach for another resume, but don’t assume that everything is above-board for your applicant if you fail to find pertinent results. You’ll need to explore records from outside New Jersey, too. 

When searching for this information, you must do so within the “ban the box” ordinance implemented by the state of New Jersey. According to these rules, employers may not conduct background checks or any other online record searches until they conduct an interview with the applicant. Employers cannot consider expunged or pardoned records.  

Once your business has a compliant vetting policy, you can start electronic vetting. backgroundchecks.com delivers the ideal suite of tools for acquiring information that is essential to the hiring decisions in both the business and nonprofit sectors. Examine local records and data by using the county-level background check first. When ready, you can advance to the next stage and include all of New Jersey and the nation through our US OneSEARCH. 

Each of these reporting tools uses information supplied from state and local authorities with no affiliation to backgroundchecks.com. Data is subject to change. For sensitive positions, request an on-site courthouse record search instead—we offer results within three business days. 

Our products source information from resources such as the:

• New Jersey Admin Office of the Courts – Felony records from 1984-present, updated monthly
• New Jersey Department of Corrections – Felony records from 2000-present, updated monthly 
• New Jersey Sex Offender Registry – Updated bi-weekly 

Our reports may include the subject’s:

• Name
• Offense
• Sentence 

Take full advantage of the skilled labor available in Essex County with the simpler, faster vetting services available through backgroundchecks.com.

Learn more about our county background check options