Oklahoma County, home of the state’s capital, has a population of about 650,000. Surrounding counties include Canadian, Cleveland, Kingfisher, Lincoln, Logan, and Pottawatomie. Important regional employers include Love’s, Sonic, and Hobby Lobby. With its transformation into a service- and administrative-based economy, Oklahoma County produces many new job opportunities. As a result, it has recorded consistent growth for decades, creating strong demand for employment.
Oklahoma County businesses can leverage that demand to select top talent and speed up the time that it takes to fill critical open positions. However, these businesses must take care not to rush the process. With so many newcomers in the area, it’s a likelihood that some applicants to open positions will have checkered pasts. How can you tell suitable applicants apart from unsuitable hires when you can’t make the determination from an interview alone? The solution is to adopt a thorough procedure for using criminal background checks during hiring.
Looking into an individual’s criminal record and taking it into account as a factor in your decision-making is a strong way to ensure intelligent hiring choices. Employers have a right to such thorough considerations if they do so in a manner that complies with employment law. What should a business do first to search an applicant’s criminal history?
County courthouses are the ideal place to begin your search. A local criminal record could reveal information that disqualifies an applicant for a certain position. Explore records held by Oklahoma County courts to learn more. If you turn up empty-handed, your search isn’t over–your applicant could have a record somewhere else within the state or nation. You need a wider point of view to establish confidence, available with regional and national background checks.
Always observe the law when taking these vetting steps. Oklahoma does not use a “ban the box” law to restrict how or when employers may consult an applicant’s criminal records. However, there is still federal law to consider. The Civil Rights Act and the FCRA provide insight into what to do and not to do during the hiring process—for example, you must request an applicant’s consent before performing a background check.
With an understanding of your legal obligations, you can now equip your business with the tools to search criminal records. Try the backgroundchecks.com county-level criminal record search as the first step in your vetting process. When you need more information to make the right decision, go national with our US OneSEARCH. Both products scale effortlessly to enable hiring at any volume.
These tools use information collected from state and local authorities that have no affiliation with backgroundchecks.com. Data is subject to change. For sensitive hires, you can request an on-site courthouse record search for the most current data. We provide results within three business days.
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Tap into the vibrant employment market across Oklahoma County and make the most of every opportunity to hire talented individuals with the right tools from backgroundchecks.com.