About Justifacts Credential Verification, Inc.

Yes, Justifacts is a member of the PBSA. We first received PBSA accreditation in 2014, and were re-certified in 2019.

Are you a member of the Concerned CRAs?

Yes, Justifacts is a member of the Concerned CRAs and is committed to keeping all applicant’s personally identifiable information (PII) in the United States.

Are you certified with Privacy Shield?

Yes, Justifacts is certified with Privacy Shield.

What is the average tenure of your staff?

The average tenure of our administrative team is 20 years. The average Account manager tenure is 13 years and the average Sales manager tenure is 9 years.

Do you require contracts?

Justifacts standard service agreement has a term of 3 years but is non-exclusive. You are never locked-in to using Justifacts background check services.

Do you charge monthly minimum fees?

No, there are no minimum monthly or yearly fees.

Who do I contact if I have a question or problem?

You are assigned a dedicated account manager and assistant account manager who are available to answer your phone calls and provide immediate assistance.

What are your hours of operation?

Justifacts’s hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST.

Getting Started

What’s involved in setting up a screening program?

Your Justifacts’ salesperson will provide you a start-up packet that includes our standard agreement and basic FCRA-required paperwork. From there, new users will be set up in our system, provided with live web-based training and can begin placing orders.

How quickly can an account be set up?

Most accounts can be set up in as little as one day. Accounts with ATS integrations or special customizations typically take two to three weeks.

Is an onsite inspection needed to utilize the Credit Report Service?

Justifacts is an approved provider of both Experian and TransUnion credit reports. Due to security concerns, all employers that desire access to credit information will be required to undergo an onsite inspection of their facilities.

How can I set up a new user for my company?

Your account manager or sales manager are available to assist you with setting up a new user for your account.

Can we restrict what information some of our users have access to? Are we able to create levels of users?

Yes, options do exist to set up Administrative, Regional, and Divisional users, each with different levels of access to information.

Do you provide new user training? Is there a charge for that?

Yes. Live, web-based new user training is available for an unlimited number of users at no cost.

Is there a limit to the amount of users that can be added to my account?

No, there is no limit to the number of users you can add to your account.

What are the fees associated with an ATS integration

Justifacts does not charge any fee on our end for an integration with your ATS. Typically ATS providers do charge a fee for integration with a background screening provider. You should contact your ATS provider for more information.

How often should background checks be run?

Ultimately, background checks are as good as the day you run them. Elements of a background check such as criminal record checks and driving checks are subject to change throughout an employee’s tenure with your organization. In certain circumstances, re-checking an employee’s criminal record or driving record is required by law. In most cases, it comes down to an employer’s individual preference. As a general rule, Justifacts recommends annual criminal and motor vehicle re-checks. Additionally, we also offer continual driver monitoring for employers who are looking for instant notification of any potential problems.

Is there a start up fee?

Yes, there is a one time $65 start up fee.

Technology

What are the technical or software requirements to use your system?

Justifacts’s web-based system supports most of the popular HTML-based, HTTPS, and Java session-capable web browsers. There are no technical requirements, special interfaces, or required software – just a web browser and an internet connection. Justiweb is an internet based application that allows clients instant online access to their reports at any time they desire.

Do you offer administrative reports to help manage my background screening process?

Yes, you will be provided with an administrative reporting tool which will provide administrative users with statistical data in regards to items such as: turnaround time, percentage of adverse results, average cost per applicant, and more.

How do you handle updates? Will our service be affected by system downtimes?

All platform updates that may cause downtime are conducted outside of business hours (on weekends or past 10 PM EST on weeknights).

Is information protected by backups?

Justifacts’s critical systems are redundant across multiple data centers, each with their own internal redundancies and automated failover functions, Data from these systems are automatically backed up on a nightly basis to separate storage facilities.

Justifacts has redundant, load-balanced cloud-based hosting facilities with automated failover in the event of a major disaster at either location. Additionally, data is replicated in near-real-time between the multiple data centers.

What happens during power outages?

In the event of a power outage, Justifacts does have a backup generator to ensure that there is no disruption of service. Furthermore, most of our systems are fully redundant where we can take down any component of the system for maintenance/replacement without affecting operations or causing any downtime.

How long do you retain records?

Justifacts retains reports for a period of 10 years. Justifacts routinely maintains applications and materials garnered during the process of conducting a background report for a period of 2 years. Currently, all information is maintained & stored electronically.

Placing an Order

How do I place an order?

Clients have several no-cost options for placing orders including:

Are there any additional fees associated with any of the order entry options?

No, there is no additional charge for any of the available order entry options.

Can we submit requests 24/7?

Yes, requests can be submitted 24/7 at your convenience.

How long does an applicant have to complete the applicant portal process?

Applicants have 72 hours to complete the process before the applicant portal request expires.

Do I need a person’s date of birth to complete a background check?

Yes, an applicant’s date of birth is used as a common identifier and is often required to complete criminal record searches and other verifications.

Can I order a la carte screenings?

Yes, a la carte options are available.

Am I able to add a search to a report that is already in progress?

Yes, your account manager will be able to assist you with adding anything additional you may need.

Criminal Record Searches

What information do you need to complete a criminal record check?

To complete a criminal record check, the minimum you will need to provide the applicant’s full legal name, date of birth, and address history.

Why do some counties take longer than others to return results?

Each county has their own policy for how to obtain public record information. The options vary from online access to clerk assisted searches. Each method of obtaining records has differing time-frames, with online access typically offering the quickest results.

If I run a national criminal database search, do I need to run a federal criminal search as well?

Yes, federal court records are not contained in the national criminal database and should be searched separately.

Do you assist clients with FCRA compliance?

Justifacts will assist our clients in maintaining compliance by conducting routine FCRA Compliance audits in order to be proactive in correcting any potential FCRA violations. However, Justifacts does not provide legal advice and all clients are encouraged to contact their own legal counsel.

Do my candidates need to know that I am completing a background check on them?

Yes, you are required to provide candidates with both a disclosure and obtain their signed authorization prior to beginning a background check.

What is a Disclosure and Authorization form?

A disclosure is a standalone document stating that you are going to be performing a background check on an applicant. This form must be provided to the applicant prior to conducting any background screening. Additionally, applicants must complete and sign an authorization form that permits you to conduct a background check on the applicant

Does Justifacts provide Electronic Disclosure and Authorization as part of your process?

Yes, Justifacts does provide an electronic disclosure and authorization option.

What is the purpose of Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action letters?

The Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action letters are requirements of the FCRA. These letters allow an applicant to review adverse information and dispute any potential errors or issues with their background check.

A Pre-Adverse letter is going to include: a copy of the background check, FCRA Summary of Consumer Rights, and the CRA’s (background check company) contact information. The object of this letter is to allow the applicant to dispute any inaccuracies in the report and for the CRA to take any necessary corrective action to ensure that the information provided is fully accurate.

After sending a Pre-Adverse letter, employers must allow a “reasonable time” to pass before proceeding to the next step, the Adverse Action letter.

An Adverse Action letter is a notification informing an applicant that he/she has been denied employment based in whole or in part on the results of his/her background check. Again, included in the letter will be the completed background check, FCRA Summary of Consumer Rights, and the CRA’s contact information.

Can you send Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action letters on our behalf?

Yes, Justifacts does offer an automated adverse action Process which auto-generates both the pre-adverse and adverse action letters, along with report copies and the consumer “Summary of Rights.” It also includes markers to let clients know when specific actions were taken. This tool is offered free of charge for our clients.

Do I have to send a copy of the report to the candidate if they request it?

Consumers are always entitled to a copy of their report, which can be provided by the end user. The FCRA requires end users to provide a copy whenever an adverse action is contemplated. Additionally, several states such as CA, MN, and OK have laws requiring the end user of a report to provide copies when either a checkbox is marked or whenever the consumer requests a copy.

After sending a Pre-Adverse Action Letter, how long am I required to wait before sending the Adverse Action Letter?

The FCRA does not specify the exact amount of time employers should allow for applicant’s to dispute information, but it is generally accepted as five working days.

What is a dispute?

A dispute is when an applicant feels that his/her background check contains errors or inaccuracies. Upon review of their background check, applicants are able to notify the CRA of the alleged error. At that point, the CRA must re-investigate the disputed information. If the information is found to be incorrect, the CRA must correct the report to reflect the most accurate and up to date information.

How long do disputes typically take?

On average, Justifacts is able to complete disputes in 3-5 business days.

How often are your reports disputed?

Justifacts makes every attempt to clear up any ambiguous information or inconsistencies with applicants prior to completing reports. Therefore, our dispute rate is less than 0.01%.

Billing

What are your invoicing capabilities?

Justifacts has the capability of invoicing by single or multiple client department ID numbers. Because our online invoicing system is customizable, we can set up any necessary modifications to accommodate your specific needs.

What are additional fees?

Ancillary and additional court fees may apply when conducting certain background checks, such as state criminal record searches, state driving records, and with a few county criminal searches. These fees are set in place by the particular states, and Justifacts simply passes along this cost without a markup.

Also, note that some employers have outsourced their employment verifications to third parties such as The Work Number to verify an applicant’s employment history. In addition, some higher education institutions use The National Student Clearinghouse or Degree Verify to confirm an applicant’s degree. When these services are required, there is a fee, which Justifacts simply passes along without a markup.

What are payment terms?

Justifacts offers its clients a Net 30 Day payment term.