Background Check Question

[muddywaters8197]

Hello EMT-Life!

This is my first post

I'm a Massachusetts EMT B, currently working per diem in Western MA.

I interviewed and took a prehire test for a job in Boston, passed a drug test, and was given a tentative start date of Nov 5th and was given a salary.

I've been given a verbal offer, but am waiting to hear back about my criminal background check. It's been 2 weeks since I interviewed, and no word. I've never been charged or convicted of any crime.

But since it's been slow-going, I've been freaking out and imagining the worst...that they called an employer and got a bad reference, or that I got my dates of employment at some old job wrong by a month, etc.

Has anyone on here done a background check in MA before? How long do they take?

 

[Handsome Robb]

Not sure about MA but generally you wont hear anything about your background check unless they find something they don't like or need clarification on.

 

[Tigger]

My hiring process with a Boston company was similar, I got a job offer at the conclusion of my interview pending the results of a physical/drug-screen/background check. It took two weeks for the company to get all the results back.

You could always call the company and ask to check the status of your application process or something like that.

 

[Medico]

It is illegal for a past employer to give a bad reference. They can either give a good reference or non at all. This is why most established places of business only confirm date or hire and leave, and whether you are eligible for rehire.

Don't worry, BG checks can be a pain and time consuming.

 

[usalsfyre]

It is illegal for a past employer to give a bad reference. They can either give a good reference or non at all. This is why most established places of business only confirm date or hire and leave, and whether you are eligible for rehire.

Don't worry, BG checks can be a pain and time consuming.

:rofl: :rofl:

I can tell a potential employer ANYTHING I wish for the most part as long as it's true. It may open me up to some level of civil liability, but there is no criminal component to references.

I think it's also possible you underestimate the amount of reference checks that are done outside official channels.

 

[Medico]

:rofl: :rofl:

I can tell a potential employer ANYTHING I wish for the most part. It may open me up to some level of civil liability, but there is no criminal component to references.

I think it's also possible you underestimate the amount of reference checks that are done outside official channels.

False. Unless what you're stating to be true during a reference is properly documented it is against the law to speak negatively. These laws are like all other laws. They are broken and rarely enforced.

I believe your assumption of my own to be wrong as well.

 

[usalsfyre]

False. Unless what you're stating to be true during a reference is properly documented it is against the law to speak negatively. These laws are like all other laws. They are broken and rarely enforced.

I believe your assumption of my own to be wrong as well.

Got the statute to prove it?

It would also be extremely odd for poor performance NOT to be documented.

 

[Jambi]

I think it's also possible you underestimate the amount of reference checks that are done outside official channels.

I am the opinion that unofficial channels are what makes the world go round. EMS is also a much smaller world than some realize.

 

[mycrofft]

Got the statute to prove it?

It would also be extremely odd for poor performance NOT to be documented.

I was trained and performed as a supervisor for County department's workplace.

Untrue information you may send in response to a written query is libel. Untrue verbal communication about a former employee is slander. Those reflect upon the former employer. Any information accepted by the new employer without documentation is hearsay. Different places have different laws but generally these are civil matters, not criminal, unless they are done to deny an applicant employment based upn race, creed, faith, peceived handicaps not related to doing the job, in which case it can be a civil rights' issue. Since no reasonable employer wants to fight a suit or have their personnel records inspected, they will usually decline or give a neutral report.

OP, don't worry, go buy some shears or pants or whatever.

 

[Tigger]

False. Unless what you're stating to be true during a reference is properly documented it is against the law to speak negatively. These laws are like all other laws. They are broken and rarely enforced.

I believe your assumption of my own to be wrong as well.

Good luck finding an actual law to back that opinion up. How in the world could a law define what negative is? Not that it even matters, all it takes for one supervisor (or rank and file in some places) to talk to another at the other company and voila, bye bye job offering.

 

[Tigger]

I was trained and performed as a supervisor for County department's workplace.

Untrue information you may send in response to a written query is libel. Untrue verbal communication about a former employee is slander. Those reflect upon the former employer. Any information accepted by the new employer without documentation is hearsay. Different places have different laws but generally these are civil matters, not criminal, unless they are done to deny an applicant employment based upn race, creed, faith, peceived handicaps not related to doing the job, in which case it can be a civil rights' issue. Since no reasonable employer wants to fight a suit or have their personnel records inspected, they will usually decline or give a neutral report.

OP, don't worry, go buy some shears or pants or whatever.

But if you were a poor employee and your transgressions were documented in your personnel file, would any of this really apply?

 

[mycrofft]

Some people would challenge ANY negative information passed from one employer to another. They could make it onorous for the employers and either win an award or make them back down.

BUT...how would they find out it existed or where it came from?

 

[AlphaButch]

It is illegal for a past employer to give a bad reference. They can either give a good reference or non at all. This is why most established places of business only confirm date or hire and leave, and whether you are eligible for rehire.

Don't worry, BG checks can be a pain and time consuming.

It is NOT illegal to give a bad reference. It's just become common practice for companies to refrain from bad references due to the potential liabilty of defamation (and the costs involved even if you are truthful).

There have also been lawsuits here in Texas when a company gave a good or neutral referral when that referral was false - opening the company up to a "negligent referral" lawsuit by the new employer.

The key is that all referrals should be accurate, true and non-inflammatory.

 

[mycrofft]

It is NOT illegal to give a bad reference. It's just become common practice for companies to refrain from bad references due to the potential liabilty of defamation (and the costs involved even if you are truthful).

There have also been lawsuits here in Texas when a company gave a good or neutral referral when that referral was false - opening the company up to a "negligent referral" lawsuit by the new employer.

The key is that all referrals should be accurate, true and non-inflammatory.

And include a fortune cookie with a handwritten note hint hint

 

[Trashtruck]

I am the opinion that unofficial channels are what makes the world go round. EMS is also a much smaller world than some realize.

Bingo.

A few quick off the record phone calls in our small world to find out 'what he/she is really like' will sink your ship despite your pristine background check, impeccable employment history, and education/experience.

 

[SubiEmt]

I was trained and performed as a supervisor for County department's workplace.

Untrue information you may send in response to a written query is libel. Untrue verbal communication about a former employee is slander. Those reflect upon the former employer. Any information accepted by the new employer without documentation is hearsay. Different places have different laws but generally these are civil matters, not criminal, unless they are done to deny an applicant employment based upn race, creed, faith, peceived handicaps not related to doing the job, in which case it can be a civil rights' issue. Since no reasonable employer wants to fight a suit or have their personnel records inspected, they will usually decline or give a neutral report.

OP, don't worry, go buy some shears or pants or whatever.

Good to know. Thanks for this post it actually answered a question I had.