Post employment background check (credit, attorney, transfer)

[nycmodel25]

Hello,

I have worked at this company as a temp for 1.5 years and the remainder through the company directly. They are asking after 2 years of employment for me to complete a background check and provide paystubs of previous employers. Am I obligated to do this? Can I loose my job if I don't? The agency should have already taken care of this before I began working there.

Please Help

[omigawd]

Originally Posted by nycmodel25

Hello,

I have worked at this company as a temp for 1.5 years and the remainder through the company directly. They are asking after 2 years of employment for me to complete a background check and provide paystubs of previous employers. Am I obligated to do this? Can I loose my job if I don't? The agency should have already taken care of this before I began working there.

Please Help

Who is asking for the information? The temp agency or the company itself? Who do you get your pay from? The agency or the company?

This can be taken 2 ways:

Positive: The company may be looking to hire you on full time and need a background check before making you a permanent employee.

Negative: They may have been doing a routine check of your references and came across something that they need further info on or something that doesn't match up to what you told them and now they need further information.

Yes, you can lose your job if you don't comply. NYS is an "at will" employment state and you can be fired for almost any reason (within the law). My job (where I've been for about 4 years) recently said they had to do background checks on certain people (criminal, employment, and credit). I was one of the people. I've been there 4 years but I couldn't refuse it or I would have lost my job.

[jcoltrane]

@ the OP

From the facts as you have presented them, you worked for and was an 'employee' of the Agency not the company where you were placed for one and one half years.

Subsequent to that the detail you provide is unclear.

I presume for the subsequent six months you were employed in a 'temporary' and/or 'independent contractor' capacity for your present potential employer, correct?

Presently, I presume you are being considered for 'full time, permenant employment' resulting in your being put onto the 'payroll' of your formally 'contractual' employer, correct?

Given the above to be accurate and true, then your circumstance, despite your and your potential employer's familiarity with you and your work, is that of a *new* applicant, and consequently it is necessary for you to be subject to the normal hiring procedures which you had previously as an, Agency, Temporary, and/or Independant Contractor, not been subject too.

It appears that you are not, presently, an employee of the 'Company', and as a non-employee have no rights nor protections that an 'employee' of the Company may or may not have.

Refusal to comply with the Company's hiring procedures, as well as, the outcome of any investigative process the Company can and does legally engage, may result in the Company choosing to not to offer permanent employment and/or rescinding any previous offer made contingent to the hiring process.

*****

That's the legal circumstance, real world, if you don't want to go thru the hassle and time, then speak with whomever directly wants to hire you and/or will be your direct supervisor, or whomever said 'hire her'.

They may have the clout and authority to forego the normal procedure. This can occur in companies which are more entreprenurial in nature. In other companies, which are more 'bureaucratic', it is difficult to buck the Bureaucracy, often impossible!

C'est la vie!

[nycmodel25]

I am not working for the agency any longer I am working for the company directly. I get paid by the company. I feel that all this information they should have since I came from the agency and all this was provided to the agency. Why should I have to submit to it by the company plus asking for previous paystubs of previous employers is a bit unorthodox.

[nycmodel25]

To JColtrane: this is where it gets interesting this company gave me a offer letter that reads to that of an employee I.e. cannot work outside of them if so need to notify them etc... they call me a fixed term employee (my "contract" is every 6 mos and up for renewal). However, I do not get a 1099 I get a W2 (in your experience have you ever heard of this? My assignment was temp to perm for 6 mos. via the agency I became pregnant they promised to make me perm upon return from maternity and then it was excuse after another until I threatned to go to the EEOC then they gave me this "fixed term contract" they provide medical but deny me everything else. Company is Outsouring for IT and predominately Indian. I am very confused they wont make me a perm offer since I have gone to the DOL and EEOC and had an attorney write them a letter. They have expressed not renewing my contract i.e. firing me which = retaliation

[jcoltrane]

Originally Posted by nycmodel25

I am not working for the agency any longer I am working for the company directly. I get paid by the company. I feel that all this information they should have since I came from the agency and all this was provided to the agency. Why should I have to submit to it by the company plus asking for previous paystubs of previous employers is a bit unorthodox.

You seem NOT to comprehend that you worked for the Agency and NOT the company. The Agency DID NOT hire you on behalf of the Company. You were a DIRECT employee of the Agency. You were on the Agency's payroll, paid by the Agency.

Again, your workplace may have been at the Company, but your employer was the Agency. Is any of that unclear?

Whaever hiring process employed by the Agency is theirs, independant of and not belonging to the Company. Any information regarding your hiring with the Agency is private and confiential between you and the Agency. They cannot legally share nor employ such information with the Company, unless engaged by and acting as an Agent for the Company.

Consequently, as I have previously outlined, the hiring process of the Company is separate and independant. It is necessary that you be vetted through the Company's separate and independant hring process.

Information cannot be transferred from the Agency to the Company. Human Resources/Personnel for the Company must satisfy its in-house procedures, standards and legalities , which have nothing to do with, nor have any connection to or with that of the Agency.

Is there anything unclear?

*****

When you say, "working for the company directly. ...get paid by the company.", what does this mean specifically?

Are you a payroll employee of the company?

You do not need to be such, in order to be paid by the company.

First, what you 'feel' is irrelevant. You may feel whatever you wish. What is legally corre@t and permissable is what matters.

Unorthodox? Perhaps it is the manner in which you were hired which is unorthodox. One can only presume such to be the case. Now, it would appear the 'gaps' which were not filled in upon your hire, are now being addressed.

Some of which may be, the accuracy of your application or claims upon your employment.

Perhaps you are not aware, ut often firms will hire personnel based upon their application, resume and interview impression; which may or may not include a cursory or full background check.

Often, if prior to hiring, a cursory or no background check was or was not performed, later during employment a full background check will be completed. Sometimes discrepencies are discovered and the employee is asked to explain, clarify and/or is requested to provide additional (corrborating) information. There is nothing untoward nor unorthodox involved.

The Agency, in most circumstances, will, at best, have performed a simple cursory background check. In addition, it w/b unusual if you were hired based upon the Agency's background check.

Just read your following post....

[jcoltrane]

Originally Posted by nycmodel25

To JColtrane: this is where it gets interesting this company gave me a offer letter that reads to that of an employee I.e. cannot work outside of them if so need to notify them etc... they call me a fixed term employee (my "contract" is every 6 mos and up for renewal). However, I do not get a 1099 I get a W2 (in your experience have you ever heard of this? My assignment was temp to perm for 6 mos. via the agency I became pregnant they promised to make me perm upon return from maternity and then it was excuse after another until I threatned to go to the EEOC then they gave me this "fixed term contract" they provide medical but deny me everything else. Company is Outsouring for IT and predominately Indian. I am very confused they wont make me a perm offer since I have gone to the DOL and EEOC and had an attorney write them a letter. They have expressed not renewing my contract i.e. firing me which = retaliation

Welllll, thank you for that bit of RELEVANT information.

From experience, I knew there was more to the story than you were divulging.

I believe I perceived the circumstance correctly.

You are NOT presently, nor have you been, an 'employee' of the Company.

As a result of your combative stance, I doubt you will ever be offered full employment. I, with confidence, believe you are considered a 'legal' issue for the Company. I imagine that the Company is engaging in procedures to legally terminate any and all association with you.

They no longer wish to hire nor employ you, and frankly neither would I.

You appear to 'feel' entitled to employment by the Company. Why is this?

You not only appear entitled, but apparently you have engaged in efforts to FORCE the Company to hire you.

Retaliation?

I think it not at such a level. Simply, WHY would anyone have someone with your demonstrated menality around?

Of course, you have not provided all the facts, but I surmise that as a temp worker readying to take time for your pregnancy, you feel you were assured that upon your return you w/b hired, permanently and put on payroll. I suppose you expected, and feel you were promised, to be immediately hired.

When this did not occur, presumably in the manner and time frame you expected, it was you who turned 'retaliatory', not the Company.

****

In any event, returning to your original question and post,

Orthodox or not, the Company has every right to investigate you as an applicant.

You were never hired by the company, and worked expressly for the Agency. I believe you did not asses your circumstance correctly, and presumed you worked for the Company thru the Agency. This was not the case.

At no time, including the present are were you nor are you an employee of the Company.

Lastly, I believe I have outlined the relationship between you, the Agency and the Company, as well as any obligation the Company has or has not in your regard.

It would appear that the Company is somewhat 'tentative' in nature. Most firms I have been associated with, including myself, would have terminated any association, and the Eeoc any any other agency could go F themselves. The prospect of Courts and regulatory laws I and the firms I have associated with are not so intimidated, quite the contrary.

In any event, to be on the precautionary side, w/o questuon your Company is in the process of creating a documentary basis for legal termination. In other words, they are crossing their Ts and dotting their Is (in the event they must present a court defense), while searching for inaccuracies in your application and resume, which can serve as a basis for termination and/or to non-renewal of your contract.

If you choose not to comply or cooperate, in the least it w/n be in your favor. Specifically, in that you are NOT an employee and have no guarantee of employment nor renewal.

The demand for paystubs is to verify your claims as to previous salary, which claims I presume were the basis of determining your present salary. It is a simple and legitimate check which in your case is a deliberate attempt to find basis for termination of association (and to buck up thei court defense).

Unfortunately, I cannot wish you luck.

[Forgive the typos, as I have no motivation for correction.]