A pre-employment background check in Illinois can help verify a candidate’s qualifications by providing a look into their education, employment history, criminal records, and more. Employers may use background check information to make informed hiring decisions, mitigate risk, and create safer work environments.
Illinois background checks can play an important part in the hiring process, but navigating federal, state, and local hiring regulations can be complex, particularly when employers choose to conduct screenings on their own. This guide will cover how to conduct a background check in Illinois, what types of reports are available, and the benefits of partnering with a third-party background check provider.
An Illinois background check is a search into many different types of public records and databases to provide employers with information about a job candidate or volunteer’s history. They are often used during the hiring process to confirm a candidate’s qualifications and eligibility for the role. Commonly used screenings may check criminal records, credit history, or driving records.
Under Illinois law certain industries may require more comprehensive fingerprint-based criminal background checks, including:
- Childcare workers: Employers must run a check of the Child Abuse and Neglect Tracking System (CANTS) and conduct a fingerprint-based criminal background check through the Illinois State Police. FBI checks may also be needed if the candidate has lived outside Illinois during the last five years or if an Illinois criminal records check returns a record of criminal activity. Candidates must also be screened for inclusion in national and state sex offender registries.
- Licensed and unlicensed school workers: School districts must conduct a fingerprint-based criminal history, as well as scans of the Illinois State Police Sex Offender Registry and the Statewide Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Database.
- Healthcare workers: The Illinois Health Care Worker Background Check Act requires healthcare providers to complete a fingerprint-based criminal background check in Illinois on new hires using the Illinois Department of Public Health web portal. This regulation includes hospital staff, home health aides, people who work with the disabled, and nursing home employees. Physicians and volunteers are excluded and can be covered by other fingerprinting requirements. By law, employers must also check the Illinois Sex Offender Registry, the Department of Corrections’ Sex Offender Search Engine, the Department of Corrections’ Inmate Search Engine, the Department of Corrections Wanted Fugitives Search Engine, the National Sex Offender Public Registry, and the website of the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General to determine if a candidate has been adjudicated as a sex offender, has been a prison inmate, or has committed Medicare or Medicaid fraud.
- Carnival workers: Owners of traveling amusement rides must provide documentation that they have conducted a criminal history check and sex offender registry check for all operators, attendants, and assistants. They must also implement a substance abuse policy that includes random drug testing.