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Introduction to International Screening

by Lester S. Rosen

Employers have long recognized that conducting due diligence on new hires is a mission critical task. Firms cannot afford to be sidetracked by employee problems such as workplace violence, theft, false resumes, embezzlement, harassment or trumped-up injury claims. Employers can be the subject of lawsuits for negligent hiring if they hire someone that they should have known, through the exercise of due diligence, was dangerous, unfit or unqualified.

However, with the mobility of workers across international borders it is no longer adequate to conduct these checks just in the United States. A 2000 government study shows that 11.5% of the population consists of immigrants. In addition, an increasing number of workers have spent part of their professional career abroad. The number of countries from which employers seek additional information about applicants is expansive, and includes India, China, Philippines, France, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Japan, Canada, among others.

International Background Screening Perceived As Difficult
Because of the perceived difficulty in performing international employment screening, some employers have not attempted to verify international credentials or to perform foreign criminal checks. However, the mere fact that information may be more difficult to obtain from outside of the U.S. does not relieve an employer from their due diligence obligation.

Nor can employers simply assume that the U.S. government has conducted background checks if the worker was issued a visa. After the events of 9/11, the U.S. has increased checks on foreign visitors and on workers on government "watch lists." However, the government checks are generally not aimed at verifying a credential or checking for criminal records for employment purposes.

To exercise due diligence in hiring, employers should consider screening internationally for criminal records, employment, education, and publicly available terrorist lists.

Criminal Records
When it comes to criminal records, each and every country is completely different. The availability of public records that is taken for granted here in the United States is often times not available abroad. In some countries, records are available at the courthouse, similar to how criminal records are obtained in the US. In other countries, records can be obtained from a police agency. In some countries, the best course is to have the applicant obtain their own certificate of good conduct from their local police station.

For criminal records searches, it is important to know exactly where the person has lived to ensure you are searching the appropriate court. Keep in mind also that that turnaround time for international criminal searches takes longer than domestic searches. Different countries also have different rules on the level of searches, but in most countries it is possible to obtain information of offenses that are at the felony level.

Another concern is name variations. Many countries have naming convention that is different then the US, such as the use of the mother's name. Complications can also arise for applicants whose name is based on a non-English alphabet, such as Chinese, Arabic or Japanese. There are numerous ways that such names can be translated into English.

Privacy and data protection is another crucial issue. For example, the European Union has passed strong privacy rules affecting how personal data can be obtained and utilized. U.S. background firms that do international searches should be a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce Safe Harbor program, which demonstrates a commitment to the E.U. privacy and data protection rules.

Education
Verification of an educational degree earned abroad is critical to verify credentials and to avoid fraud. An employer needs to determine if an applicant in fact attended the school claimed and received the degree claimed. Statistics show that education fraud can run as high as 20%. The employer also needs to determine if the school is accredited and authentic. The world is awash with phony schools and worthless diplomas. If the employer is not familiar with a school, they should conduct their own research. A legitimate school will often have an e-mail address or phone number so that they can be contacted to verify a degree.

Employment
Foreign employment can also be verified by contacting the employer even though they are in a foreign country. Often such calls will be made in the middle of the night due to time differences. The critical step is to obtain as much information about the past employer as possible from the applicant. If the employer does not speak English, an interpreter may be needed.

Terrorist Lists
Other due diligence tools are the various terrorist databases available to the public, such as the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") list maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Such lists are readily available but there are limitations as well, such as working with name matches only when no additional details are available. To locate a list of web sites containing publicly available lists, and for more information on international background checks, go to: www.esrcheck.com/international.php.

Lester S. Rosen is an attorney at law and President of Employment Screening Resources (www.ESRcheck.com), a national background screening company headquartered in Novato, California. He is the author of, The Safe Hiring Manual--Complete Guide to Keeping Criminals, Imposters and Terrorists Out of Your Workplace (512 pages-Facts on Demand Press), the first comprehensive book on employment screening. He is a frequent speaker nationwide on pre-employment screening and safe hiring issues. He was the first co-chairman of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), the organization for the background screening industry.

(c)2008 Lester S.Rosen

Special Report: International Background Screenings

Service and Fee Schedule for ESR International Screening Services >>>

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Please note: ESR conducts international screenings for American employers who also hire individuals from abroad or for employers who specialize in international recruiting. However, ESR does not operate as an international investigative agency or provide one-time international searches. For one-time searches or due diligence investigations, ESR recommends the services of private investigators or security firms who specialize in international due diligence searches.

Many firms are finding that they have a need to conduct background screening on individuals from other countries. This can occur in two situations:

An American company is considering a job applicant who was born abroad and has not been in the United States long enough to rely solely upon checking American references and records;

An American company is hiring an individual in another country to work in that country, such as outside sales or marketing representative.

Types of International checks:  Screening versus Investigation

There are two types of international services an employer may utilize. The first type is an international employment screening. The second type is an international investigation.

For most employers an international employment screening involves verifications of supplied information, as opposed to an active investigation to locate information. In other words, an employer will have already obtained from an applicant the name, addresses, and phone numbers of previous employers or schools. Also, the employer will have obtained locations where an applicant has lived, worked, or studied, which is important to know where to conduct criminal searches. The employer does not need to hire an international investigator to locate that information. In other words, an international investigation typically involves an investigator working in the country where the investigation is conducted.  When an employer utilizes a screening firm, there is not necessarily an agent on the ground in the country where the information is being obtained.  It is often obtained by contact with courts, employers, and schools done by phone or e-mail.  For that reason, an international investigation typically is considerably more expensive then a screening. 

A typical international screening will consist of contacting the employers and schools that have been supplied and conducting a criminal check to the extent possible in that country. A screening may also include if available a driving record and credit report.

If an employer is filling a highly sensitive potion or is conducting a due diligence investigation of a potential business partner, then the services of a qualified investigation firm is needed. ESR only conducts employment screening. If an investigation is required, ESR will assist the employer in obtaining qualified professional assistance.

In addition to the screening tools available from ESR, there are other steps an employer can do when hiring a person who has spent time abroad:

1. Even though the person's time in the US may have been limited, do whatever background checking is possible based upon their time in the US. It demonstrates due diligence by documenting the fact that an employer did what they could do.

2. Even if a person is relatively new to this country, ask for the name of personal references that are in the US. However, be sure to also document the relationship between the reference and the applicant. Although this is not a perfect solution, an employer demonstrates due diligence by making and documenting an attempt to do a screening

3. If hiring a number of applicants from abroad, state in the release form that you will also conduct background investigations of any countries where an applicant has lived in the past seven to ten years. This can have the effect of discouraging applicant with something to hide. However, this should be worded carefully, so that an employer does not imply that any hiring decision is made based upon country of origin or ethnicity.

Special challenges when performing international backgrounds screenings:

When performing international checks, the following are some of the special challenges that are faced:

Each and every country is completely different. Techniques and information that are taken for granted here in the United States are often times not available abroad. Outside of the United States, there is generally very limited access to public records and the types of information needed for background screening. Each country has its own laws, customs, and procedures for background screenings. Criminal records can be a challenge. In many countries, it is extremely difficult to obtain criminal records. There are parts of the world where such record are not available without retaining a local private investigator that has his/her own resources. In other countries, such as Canada, a person may apply themselves for a certificate of good conduct from a local police agency.

Practical difficulties:

Language barriers: Although all investigators utilized by ESR can communicate in English, it is not normally their first language. In addition, technical words can lead to some confusion. In addition Also, language can become an issue in communication with foreign schools and employers. There can also be language issues in reviewing court documents for criminal record searches, although ESR criminal researchers will provide translations of any court documents.

Differences in courts and criminal systems: In doing international criminal, searches, each country has its own legal codes, definition of crimes and court system. International criminal checks requires an understanding of each country's court system, how criminal records are created and maintained, where searches should be conducted, the type of records that are available, and what the records mean.

Time differences: When communicating with researchers, past employers, or schools around the world, there can be delays due to time differences. This can add lag time to the reporting process.

Means of communications: Each country will have different means of communication. Although e-mail would be preferable, not all countries have reliable e-mail delivery. Communications are normally done by fax machine.

Calendar: Since each country has its own holidays, sometimes communications are delayed because of a country's calendar or some other internal problem.

Locating phone numbers for employment and educational checks: To conduct an international verification efficiently, it is important to have the applicant provide as much information as possible. It is not practical, for example, for an American firm to attempt to call a foreign country to locate the past employer's phone number. ESR will typically need permission to contact the applicant directly in order to obtain any additional necessary information.

Legal: It is important to stay within legal guidelines that are applicable in both the US and the foreign country. For example, when obtaining information form an applicant about past employment or education abroad, it is important not to refer to the country as their country of origin. That would likely be a form of discrimination since such a statement can imply that the employer is considering ethnicity or country of origin as a factor of employment. Instead, an employer should refer to any screening outside of the US as simply an "international screening." In addition, it is important not to perform any type of check that would be an invasion of privacy or that is contrary to the laws of either the US or the foreign country.

Payment: In many countries, if ESR needs to help an employer arrange for the services of an investigator abroad, payment must be made in that country's currency. Some investigators require that some or all be paid in advance. ESR can arrange payment through an international wire transfer (which currently costs $40.00, depending upon the bank). Or, ESR can obtain a money order in the foreign currency (currently at a bank fee of $7.50) and send it by means of DHL.

Costs: International screenings are normally much more expensive then a comparable investigation in the United States. Because an employment screening will normally consist of verifying supplied information, the pricing can be kept more reasonable. However, even verifying supplied information can be expensive for the reasons indicated above. For some countries, there is also a translation fee.

Exact fees vary by counties. In many countries, criminal searches must be conducted in each relevant location where a person has lived worked or studied. There are very few countries that have a true "national" or "official" criminal search. The searches are usually limited to felonies or serious matters. However, even though the system for international criminal checks is not perfect, this still allows an employer to both demonstrate due diligence in the hiring process and also to also discourage applicants with something to hide, since all checks are conducted pursuant to a signed release under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Please contact ESR to for pricing for each country where a criminal record check is needed.

In addition, ESR charges a set fee for each international employment and educational verification, plus long distance phone charges and interpreter services where necessary. This service requires that an applicant provide the correct phone number of the employer and school to be contacted.

ESR can also access international databases such as the International Wants and Warrants database from Interpol, the international police organization sponsored by 179 countries. As with any database, the presence of a name in the database does not mean the person has a criminal background, and the absence of a name does not mean that a person is safe. However, the Interpol database is a valuable tool used in conjunction with other screening tools.

Countries where ESR can assist an employer include: India, most European countries, Philippines, Japan, South Africa, Hong Kong, numerous countries in Central and South America, Indonesia, Canada, Mexico, Israel, Taiwan, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, and numerous others.

Service and Fee Schedule for ESR International Screening Services >>>

Please contact Employment Screening Resources for further information about performing International Background Screening.