BRB's Public Records Blog

Urban Myth: Licensed Professionals Such as Doctors, Lawyers or Teachers, Do Not Need Background Checks

Posted with permission from ESR Newsletter and Legal Update, a newsletter by Lester S. Rosen Esq. and Employment Screening Resources (ESR), www.esr.com

A popular urban myth is that members of regulated and licensed professions, such as doctors, lawyers, CPA’s, nurses or teachers do not need a background check because some governmental agency is in charge of ensuring that individuals that commit crimes or misconduct will not have a license to practice their profession. 

Unfortunately, nothing can be further from the truth.  Licensing is conducted by numerous boards in the 50 states and territories.  Due to some of the following factors, it is entirely possible for a criminal to be licensed by a state agency:

The system for a licensing board to discover a criminal conviction is far from perfect. Conviction data may not be sent to a licensing board immediately, or at all.  In addition, there can be a substantial lag time between the alleged criminal act, the arrest and the conviction.  Even if the criminal conviction is discovered by the licensing board, the disciplinary process takes time. Unless the licensing board takes action to issue an immediate suspension, the licensee may be able to continue to practice while the administrative procedures drag on.

While the disciplinary action is pending, a licensee may simply move to another state and apply for a license, covering up the proceedings in the first state.  In other words, a licensee may try to “beat the discipline” before the new state finds out about it.

Even if a person is suspended in one state, an employer cannot assume that all state licensing boards share information with each other.  As we discovered post 9/11, we do not live in a world where the government routinely collects and shares data with other governmental entities. There can even be situations where a person commits a crime that does not result in losing a license, but is still important for an employer to know about.  In fact, in some licensed occupations, a person may even get a “private” reprimand meaning that a check with the appropriate licensing board may not reveal anything.

The bottom-line:  Employers that hire a member of a licensed or regulated occupation cannot assume that they are immune from liability simply because a person appears to have a current license.  Since it is possible for criminal convictions or acts of misconduct to “fall through the cracks,” an employer still has a duty to exercise due diligence by its own independent background check.   

For a free comrehensive listing of the numerous state agencies that license occupations, see:   http://www.brbpub.com/pubrecsitesOccStates.asp 

Colorado State Courts Raise Certification Fee

Effective July, 2007, all District, County, and Water Courts in Colorado have been instructed to raise the document certification fee from $10.00 to $15.00. Our research indicates that all courts are now complying with this mandate.

The other search-related fees have stayed the same. Most courts charge $5.00 per name for a name search and the copy fee is $.75, $.25 if self serve. Nearly every court requires a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) for return of information.

Washington State Increase of Fees for Driving Records

This is a reminder that the Washington Driver Services Division raised the driving record fee from $5.00 to $10.00 effective August 1st, 2007. The fee increase applied to all access methods, including the FTP service for high volume accounts.

Vermont Raises Document Recording and Copy Fees

Effective July 1, 2007, Vermont's legislature increased the recording fee from $7.00 to $8.00 per page. This fee increase applies to deeds, deeds of trust, amendments, modifications, assignments and satisfactions.

The certified copy fee also increased from $7.00 to $8.00. There are 246 recording offices in Vermont at the town/city level.

Washington State Raises Recording Fees

Effective June 22, 2007, the fee to record the first page of a document increased $8.00 from $32.00 to $40.00. The fee increase applies to a deed, amendment, modification, reconveyance, satisfaction or assignment of mortgage. The cost for recording the first page of a deed of trust increased from $33.00 to $41.00; the fee for an assignment of a deed of trust will remain the same at $12.00.

ABA Backs Off Record Sealing Proposal

According to a recent article posted by Tony Mauro at www.law.com the ABA has pulled their record sealing proposal from the agenda of the association's House of Delegates meeting.  The controversial recommendations met immediate resistance from business and journalism groups as well as First Amendment advocates. Click here for more information. 

Choicepoint to Consolidate Dallas Background Screening Operations

Choicepoint has annouced the closing of their Dallas background screening office and the cutting of 55 jobs.  Services will be consolidated into other offices.  The tenant screening business will remain open.

Oneida Co. NY Property Records Back Online Soon?

Update to our 01/09/07 posting . . . according to a recent article in the  Utica Observer Dispatch, county clerk Sandra DePerno will be posting property assessment records back online within a few months but access will be limited to Bar Association members and abstractors.  The records were pulled from the site on 01/05/07 when SSN’s were discovered in some of the records.

NAPBS Annual Mid-year Meeting

The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) annual mid-year meeting will occur Sept. 9 - 11 at the Chicago Marriott O'Hare.  One of the meeting topics will be developing an industry accreditation program.  For more information visit www.brbpub.com