Pre-Employment Background Checks for Miami Employers

Screening protects employees and customers, lowers the risk of internal theft or fraud, and confirms that a candidate's degrees, job history and licenses are real. Applying the same documented process to every applicant also keeps hiring fair. The catch is that employment screening is heavily regulated, and a sloppy process can create more exposure than the hire it was meant to prevent.

What does a pre-employment background check typically include?

The right scope depends on the job. Roles that handle money, enter homes, drive, hold sensitive data or care for children or vulnerable adults justify the deepest checks. A typical package draws from these components:

• Identity confirmation. Tying name, date of birth and address history together first, so later searches target the right person.
• Criminal history. County court records where the candidate has lived and worked, statewide records, and federal cases. In Florida, the FDLE offers a public Florida criminal history check; its instant search is not certified, so a hit is confirmed against the actual court file. Miami-Dade case files are kept by the Clerk of the Court and Comptroller.
• Civil records. Lawsuits and judgments, most relevant for finance and management roles.
• Employment verification. Dates, titles and, where offered, rehire eligibility. Florida employers who answer reference requests are immune from civil liability unless the information was knowingly false or violated civil rights under Chapter 760 (s. 768.095, F.S.).
• Education verification. Confirming the degree and the school, catching diploma mills.
• Professional licenses. Checking with the issuing board that a license is real, active and not under discipline.
• Driving records. For driving roles, within the limits of the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (below).

For records research outside hiring, see background investigations.

When does the FCRA govern your screening?

The Fair Credit Reporting Act applies when a third party that regularly assembles information on people for a fee furnishes you a report. The statute calls that third party a "consumer reporting agency" (15 U.S.C. § 1681a(f)). That can include a screening company and a private investigative agency alike, so hiring a PI does not take your screening outside the Act.

"Employment purposes" is defined broadly: evaluating someone "for employment, promotion, reassignment or retention as an employee" (§ 1681a(h)). So the same steps apply to a current employee up for promotion. Instant people-search sites often attach another person's history, so confirm every hit against the source file.

What must an employer do before ordering a report?

1. A standalone disclosure. The applicant must receive a "clear and conspicuous disclosure" in writing, "in a document that consists solely of the disclosure," that a report may be obtained for employment purposes (§ 1681b(b)(2)(A)(i)).
2. Written authorization. The applicant must authorize the report in writing, and the statute allows that signature to be on the disclosure form itself (§ 1681b(b)(2)(A)(ii)).
3. Certification to the agency. You certify to the reporting agency that you have made the disclosure, will follow the adverse-action steps if they become necessary, and will not use the information in violation of federal or state equal employment opportunity law (§ 1681b(b)(1)).

Certain transportation applicants who apply remotely may consent orally or electronically (§ 1681b(b)(2)(B)–(C)). If the check will include interviews with references or neighbors about character or reputation, it is an "investigative consumer report" (§ 1681a(e)), and a separate written disclosure must go to the candidate within three days of the request (§ 1681d(a)).

What happens if the report could cost the applicant the job?

Denying employment, or any employment decision that adversely affects the person, is adverse action (§ 1681a(k)). The process runs in two stages:

1. Pre-adverse action. Before acting on the report, in whole or in part, give the applicant a copy of it and the written summary of their rights (§ 1681b(b)(3)(A)). Section 1681b does not set a waiting period, so ask counsel how long to allow before deciding.
2. Adverse-action notice. After the decision, § 1681m(a) requires notice of the action; the reporting agency's name, address and telephone number; a statement that the agency did not make the decision and cannot explain it; and notice of the applicant's right to obtain a no-cost copy of the report from that agency within 60 days and to dispute its accuracy.

What can a background report include, and how far back can it go?

15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a) bars a reporting agency from including:

• Bankruptcy cases more than 10 years old.
• Civil suits, civil judgments and arrest records more than seven years old, or until the statute of limitations has run, whichever is longer.
• Paid tax liens, and accounts placed for collection or charged off, more than seven years old.
• Any other adverse item more than seven years old, except records of convictions of crimes, which have no federal age limit.

Those age limits do not apply to employment at an annual salary that equals, or may reasonably be expected to equal, $75,000 or more (§ 1681c(b)(3)).

Florida adds a wrinkle. A person whose record has been sealed or expunged may lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the arrests it covers, except in listed situations such as applying to a criminal justice agency or seeking a sensitive position with direct contact with children, the disabled or the elderly through certain state agencies and their contractors (s. 943.0585 and s. 943.059, F.S.).

Does Florida require its own screening for some jobs?

Yes, but only where another law requires it. Chapter 435, F.S. applies "whenever a background screening for employment or a background security check is required by law." The agencies listed in s. 435.02, such as the Departments of Health, Children and Families and Education, screen people who work with children or with elderly or disabled persons.

• Level 1 (s. 435.03): employment history checks, a statewide criminal correspondence check through FDLE and a check of the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website, with optional local checks.
• Level 2 (s. 435.04): fingerprinting for statewide FDLE and national FBI criminal history checks, local checks, and a search of the sex offender registries of every state where the person lived in the preceding five years. Fingerprints must be submitted electronically to FDLE.

Under s. 435.06, an employer that finds grounds to disqualify must notify the employee in writing, stating the specific record; the only basis for contesting is mistaken identity, and a disqualified person may seek an exemption under s. 435.07. A covered employee may not have contact with vulnerable persons until screening is complete. A private background check does not replace a required Level 2 screening.

What a Florida PI can and can't legally do in employment screening

Gathering information about a person's "identity, habits, conduct" and "reputation, or character" is part of the legal definition of private investigation (s. 493.6101, F.S.), and agencies are licensed under Chapter 493 through the FDACS Division of Licensing. The license does not relax the FCRA or any privacy law.

What will the employer receive?

• A written report by category: identity, criminal, civil, employment, education, licenses and driving, each marked verified, not found or unconfirmed.
• A source for every record: the court or agency, case number and filing date, so a hit can be checked and, if disputed, corrected.
• Discrepancy notes where the candidate's account differs from the records.
• Secure delivery of a report that contains personal information.

How long does screening take, and what affects the cost?

Each engagement is quoted after a consultation; we do not publish a price list. What drives time and cost:

• Scope. A criminal and identity check is narrower than a package adding civil records, licenses, driving records and reference interviews.
• Jurisdictions. A candidate with addresses in several counties, states or countries takes longer than one with a single Miami-Dade history.
• Source response. Former employers and schools set their own pace, and some courts require an in-person file review.
• Name complexity. Common names and two-surname names take more work to rule out the wrong person.

Why Miami employers work with us

• FDACS agency license A1800135
• ★ 4.9 from 88 Google reviews
• Veteran-led team
• Investigators who work in English and Spanish

Bilingual investigators can reach Spanish-speaking references and former employers directly. See what attorneys say about working with us, or read our guide to verifying a licensed Florida PI.

Related guides and services

Guide: What affects the cost of a background check in Florida.

Available across Florida

Screening is run from our office at 4000 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Suite 470, Coral Gables, for employers statewide.