Categories
Background Checks Business Research Economy Human Resources Miscellany Personal Background Checks preemployment screening Retaining Employees Staffing Uncategorized

Who is Really Who? And How Do You Know? The Pre-Employment Guessing Game

Now that the federal government is implementing the I-9 for verification of those legally capable of working in the United, States, the critics have come out, decrying it for one reason or another. Some claim it is draconian, even racist, while others, more correctly, question the accuracy of the I-9 Verification.

The I-9 Verification has its place, but so does a thorough Social Security Trace. The Social Security Trace should be among the background checks a company conducts as part of their pre-employment screening program. The SSN Trace will reveal residential history as well as validate the number. While the more basic Social Security Verification will issue a valid or invalid response, the Social Security Trace with employment history will list any persons who have used the number.

Sometimes, for an HR Manager, looking at all those names can be confusing. With the proper background checking service, you can often determine who is the rightful owner of the SSN. Sometimes the date of issue will give it away. Or sometimes the prefix, the first three numbers, will tell you in what state the SSN was issued. By eliminating the people listed as users, one can find the rightful owner. Maybe he is your employment candidate, and then again maybe not.

But with all the Federal crackdown on undocumented workers, it is best as a business to find out who is legitimately documented and which candidate is not.

Check them out before you hire.

By Gordon Basichis

Gordon Basichis is the Co-Founder of Corra Group, specializing in pre-employment background checks and corporate research. He has been a marketing and media executive and has worked in the entertainment industry, the financial, health care and technology sectors. He is the author of the best selling Beautiful Bad Girl, The Vicki Morgan Story, a non-fiction novel that helped define exotic sexuality in the late twentieth century. He is the author of the Constant Travellers and has recently completed a new book, The Guys Who Spied for China, dealing with Chinese Espionage in the United States. He has been a journalist for several newspapers and is a screenwriter and producer.