Background Checks and Pre-Employment Screening

Free Background Checks - Are they worth it?

There's a new website out there that says it can provide companies with free criminal searches and save them upwards of a few hundred dollars. The site, www.criminalsearches.com, is easy to use and allows you to instantly pull up data on your subject by simply entering their name and the state they live in. But is this type of free criminal search of any value? The data provided is publicly available information, conveniently stored on this site's database. While the data may in fact show criminal activity, can it be used to deny individuals employment?

Consider a few questions. Is this data FCRA regulated? Is this data showing convictions or charges? Not everyone charged is convicted. Are the returned results even showing the subject you are interested in? What identifiers are offered to prove to you that this is the right person? John Smith is a pretty common name after all. How do you know that the information contained in this database is accurate, or even from legally recognized, sanctioned and reliable sources? How often is the database updated? I can offer similar information on my site and tell you that I got it from publicly available criminal databases. But, did I? How would you know for sure? Do you take my word for it?

Taking all this into consideration, using a site like www.criminalsearches.com to conduct free searches may be putting you or your company in legal jeopardy. The accuracy of the content and its sources may be easy targets for those of a litigious nature. I suppose we'll have to wait until someone who is wrongfully denied employment based on information reported from this site files a lawsuit and this all plays out in court to see if indeed a "free" criminal search is worthwhile.

When it comes to conducting criminal searches, the safest choice has been and always will be county level searches. This is when someone actually goes to the county courthouse and requests information on the subject in question. Is it quicker than a database search? Not by any means. Depending on the county in question the search may take anywhere from 2 to 15 days. But, is it more reliable? Yes. But you still need to be diligent. If someone moved into Maricopa County 2 years ago, they might not have a criminal record in Maricopa County. But, the county they just moved from, Pinal County, may show lots of criminal history. Always search previous counties where someone has lived for at least the last 7 years. This will cost more and take time, but check with your background check company. Most will offer you a package deal on the county criminal searches, such as up to 3 counties included in the initial price. You will probably still be charged any additional court fees, if applicable. In the end, this will save you costly legal fees.

Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. acquires ID Advocates

Merchants Information Solutions Continues Expansion Through Purchase of Scottsdale-Based ID Advocates

Move Will Enhance Merchants’ Product Offerings, Allow Company to Tap Into Automotive Industry Market

PHOENIX, ARIZONA (January 29, 2007) - Merchants Information Solutions has continued its recent growth and expansion by reaching an agreement to purchase Scottsdale-based ID Advocates, the third company Merchants has purchased in the past few months. ID Advocates is an identity-theft prevention provider with strong ties to the automotive industry and other niche industries. The company had previously partnered with Merchants on identity theft products, but will now become part of the Merchants family.

It’s one of a series of purchases Merchants has made over the past few months in order to strengthen its product offerings as a premier provider of identity theft management and recovery services, pre-employment screening and background checks and integrity/behavioral testing services.

The ID Advocates purchase will open new doors for Merchants in several industries, most importantly the automotive industry. Merchants will offer automobile dealers and lenders with the opportunity to provide customers with identity theft protection services as part of their automobile purchase and financing. Merchants will also offer the industry its full portfolio of other services.

Merchants, a Phoenix-based company with a 95-year history in the business community, recently purchased Mesa-based Personnel Profile Employment Screening, Inc. and Oregon-based American Tescor, LLC. The purchases have helped Merchants expand its presence in the marketplace in the growing field of providing companies and individuals with employment background screening and identity theft services.

"We’re very pleased to be able to announce the purchase of ID Advocates and to expand our product offerings into the automotive industry and other key industries," said Russ Johnson, President/CEO of Merchants Information Solutions. "This move will allow us to expand one of our core businesses - identity theft management and recovery - and at the same time become a leading provider of our suite of services to a fast-growing marketplace."

Joseph Annoreno, CEO of Ensurety Group, Inc. and Managing Partner of the ID Advocate’s strategic team, said the sale will help Merchants continue to fill a void for these services in the local and national business community.

"When a company like Merchants can bring 95 years of experience in the business community to the table, while providing services that are state-of-the-art and designed to help companies competing in today’s business climate, that’s a unique and formidable combination," he said.

The market for identity theft products in Arizona is a strong one, as the state leads the nation in identity theft complaints and number of victims as reported by the Federal Trade Commission. Merchants is working with companies in a variety of industries locally and at a national level to make their comprehensive identity theft program available to more and more consumers all the time.

Merchants’ fully managed identity theft program can support a victim of identity theft by handling the victim’s case from beginning to end, until the victim is returned to pre-identity theft event status. Their professionally trained recovery advocates will handle all the action items necessary to restore the victim’s good name - no matter how long it takes.

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About Merchants Information Solutions, Inc.

Phoenix-based Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. has been in business since 1912, and is a privately held company with more than 2,600 business clients. Merchants is a nationally recognized provider of several key products for individuals and businesses:

- Identity theft management and recovery solutions
- Pre-employment screening and background checks
- Resident Screening
- Integrity testing/behavioral assessments

Merchants also provides consumer and mortgage credit information and a full-service collections services. Merchants is the parent company of Personnel Profiles Screening (www.personnelprofiles.com) and American Tescor, LLC (www.americantescor.com). For more information about Merchants Information Solutions, please visit www.merchantsinfo.com.

Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. acquire American Tescor, Inc.

Merchants Information Solutions Purchases American Tescor; Adds Powerful Pre-Employment Screening Tool to Services

Employment Screening Provider Will Now Offer Psychological and Integrity Testing

PHOENIX, ARIZONA (December 7, 2006) - Merchants Information Solutions has purchased Oregon-based American Tescor, a move that will allow Merchants to greatly enhance its pre-employment screening products by adding psychological and integrity testing.

Merchants has already emerged as one of the industry leaders in pre-employment screening. The purchase of American Tescor will expand Merchants’ formidable preemployment screening products and allow the company to branch out into an area that is becoming increasingly important in the corporate world - the ability to use psychological and integrity testing to identify the best possible candidates.

American Tescor’s psychological and integrity testing has been proven to greatly reduce theft, substance abuse and violence in the workplace and is particularly suited to service industries with high employee turnover and worker’s compensation losses, such as staffing, retail, hotel and hospitality, restaurants, transportation and delivery and construction.

Merchants’ purchase of American Tescor will now give their clients the benefit of a full spectrum of pre-employment screening, creating a higher quality workforce, fewer worker’s compensation claims, and higher earnings for customers.

"We are excited to join Merchants Information Solutions," said Peter Bullard, PhD, President of American Tescor. "Together, we can offer an even broader range of applicant screening tools and a fast, accurate and affordable way to screen employees at all levels."

Pre-employment testing can include anything from administering 20 minute surveys to job applicants to behavior assessment screening. These methods are proven to help identify candidates who might be at risk for having drug problems, anger management issues, theft problems and other undesirable tendencies.

"At Merchants we can now help employers see beyond a "good interview" as the primary method of eliminating high risk hires. While no one would argue against interviewing potential employees to determine job fit, research indicates that a carefully designed and administered "integrity test" is the most reliable and valid method to screen potential candidates," said Russ Johnson, President of Merchants Information Solutions.

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About Merchants Information Solutions, Inc.

Phoenix-based Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. has been in business since 1912, and is a privately held company with more than 2,600 business clients. The company provides background screening services, identity theft management solutions, consumer, business, and mortgage credit information, and full-service collections services. For more information about Merchants Information Solutions, please visit www.merchantsinfo.com.

About American Tescor, Inc.

For over 27 years, American Tescor has been committed to making the workplace a safer place by providing their customers with technology based behavioral assessments that significantly improve the quality of new hires. Through their expertise in risk assessment and psychology, companies have enjoyed increased earnings and productivity by reducing injuries, absences, worker compensation claims, turnover, theft, and other related financial losses. For more information about American Tescor, Inc. please visit http://www.americantescor.com.

Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. acquires Personnel Profiles Employment Screening, Inc.

Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. acquires Personnel Profiles Employment Screening, Inc., to form background screening services powerhouse

Merchants is now Arizona’s largest company supplying employment screening services.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA (October 16, 2006) — Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. announced today the completion of its acquisition of Mesa-based Personnel Profiles Employment Screening, Inc., a move which further positions Merchants as Arizona’s leading provider of business information products, including expanded employment screening services, resident screening, identity theft management, consumer and business credit, mortgage reporting, and collections.

Personnel Profiles Employment Screening, Inc. is an Arizona-based firm providing pre-employment screening solutions to employers in Arizona and across the United States and Canada. They are known in the industry for their technologically-advanced screening platform and for providing high quality background checks that are reviewed by licensed private investigators for the same price as regular background reports.

Personnel Profiles’ innovative approach enables businesses to screen candidates quickly while streamlining the application process. The results are provided in color coded report format that are easy to read, while providing employers with personalized service and instant results – best practices Merchants intends on expanding.

“We are excited about the Merchants/Personnel Profile combination because it allows us to be a prominent leader in pre-employment background screening services,” said Russ Johnson, president and CEO of Merchants Information Solutions. “Merchants is excited to offer a full suite of pre-employment background solutions, providing our clients the tools they need to decrease their risk and potential liability from substandard hiring decisions.”

Pre-employment screening has become one of the fastest growing tools that Human Resources professionals utilize to hire and retain quality staff. According to a recent survey conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management, 87% of the companies surveyed performed regular reference checks and 69% performed pre-employment background checks.

“Pre-employment screening has become the HR Manager’s tool of choice in identifying qualified candidates during the hiring process,” said Sandy Baker, president and founder of Personnel Profiles. “Hiring the wrong individual is time consuming and costly to businesses. This partnership means we are offering more businesses the opportunity to hire qualified individuals through our background screening services that are handinspected for accuracy, integrity, and compliance with Federal, state, and industry standards.”

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About Merchants Information Solutions, Inc.

Phoenix-based Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. has been in business since 1912, and is a privately held company with more than 2,600 business clients. Merchants is a nationally recognized consumer and business credit information company focused on corporate risk reduction. The company provides background screening services for both pre-employment and tenant screening, as well as, identity theft management solutions, consumer, business, and mortgage credit information, and full-service collections services. For more information about Merchants Information Solutions, please visit www.merchantsinfo.com.

About Personnel Profiles Employment Screening, Inc.

Founded in 1997, Personnel Profiles Employment Screening, Inc. specializes in providing high quality background screening services. Personnel Profiles’ searches and reports are complete, correct and compliant. The company is a founding member of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners, a national association formed to ensure integrity, honesty, and compliance in the background screening industry. For more information about Personnel Profiles, please visit www.personnelprofiles.com.

Form I-9 Background Checks

Personnel Profiles Employment Screening Announces Automated I-9 Compliance Service for Employers

New Service Verifies Legal Right to Work in United States

Sept. 2, 2005 - Phoenix, AZ -- Personnel Profiles Employment Screening today announced it has been approved by the Federal Government to conduct right-to-work verifications under a new pilot program. The program enables employers to quickly and accurately verify the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees, regardless of citizenship.

"We're excited to offer this much-needed service to our corporate clients," says Sandra A. Baker, Personnel Profiles CEO and founder. "The ability to electronically verify an applicant's right to work can save a company significant time and money."

The Problem

Previously employers had no efficient method of quickly identifying applicants who did not meet the Federal government's requirements for employment in the United States. Employers could invest thousands of dollars in attracting, hiring, training and retaining employees, only to discover the employee was ineligible for employment in the U.S.

The Solution

Personnel Profiles enables companies to conduct same-day verifications of an applicant's legal right to work in the U.S. This innovative new program can save employers thousands of dollars, in addition to the lost time and productivity of replacing an unqualified employee.

Requirements

Personnel Profiles clients who wish to conduct I-9 verifications are required to sign an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) stating their intent and purpose and agreeing to the terms set forth in the MOU. Account set up can be completed in 1 - 3 days.

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About Personnel Profiles Employment Screening

Owned and operated by Merchants Information Solutions, Inc. (www.merchantsinfo.com), Personnel Profiles Employment Screening (www.personnelprofiles.com) is a national provider of background screening solutions to corporate America. The company is a licensed, bonded and insured employment screening agency and a founding member of the National Association of Pre-employment Background Screeners (www.napbs.com). Personnel Profiles complies strictly with the tenets of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.