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  • 1.  Background Check Protocols: Handling Hits in Compliance with ALTA Best Practices

    Posted 11-12-2024 21:20

    Hi everyone! According to ALTA Best Practices, background checks are required every three years. For those of you managing these, I'm curious about the protocols you have in place when a background check returns a "hit" or issue. Specifically:

    • How do you evaluate the relevance or severity of the hit?
    • Are there certain types of offenses or timelines that trigger automatic disqualification?
    • Do you have a review process, or is there a team that assesses these cases individually?

    Any insights or examples of best practices would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!



    ------------------------------
    Erin McNaboe
    Vice President of Residential Operations
    Eagle Title
    ------------------------------
    ALTA Marketplace


  • 2.  RE: Background Check Protocols: Handling Hits in Compliance with ALTA Best Practices

    Posted 11-13-2024 10:53

    Hi Erin,

    Do you have an in-house compliance department/officer, or internal resource that handles your compliance-related matters?

    If yes, I would develop a policy and procedure with them that describes your company tolerance for background check "hits" and have the procedure escalate the matter to them as an independent decision-maker under a checks and balances system.

    As some guidance, I suggest including parameters around how long ago the "hit" occurred and what job function the subject-employee has. For instance, your internal policy may be that anything "fraud" related is grounds for automatic termination, or if you prefer a less conservative approach, perhaps 12-months of probation. However, it is common to take a strict approach if they are in an escrow-related role, i.e., handling other people's money.

    If you do not have an internal dedicated compliance resource, think of who may best serve as this role for your company. It does not need to be anyone in HR or management, but perhaps someone with a level head who you trust to make determinations given the parameters you set in the company policy.

    If you'd like any outside help, feel free to reach out anytime!

    Best of luck,



    ------------------------------
    Kristin Reis
    President
    Compliance Bridge, LLC
    New Bedford MA
    +1 (774) 473-9979
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    Original Message
    ALTA Marketplace


  • 3.  RE: Background Check Protocols: Handling Hits in Compliance with ALTA Best Practices

    Posted 11-15-2024 09:33

    Thank you, Kristin. I have shared your insights with our head of compliance. Appreciate you taking the time! 



    ------------------------------
    Erin McNaboe
    Vice President of Residential Operations
    Eagle Title
    Annapolis MD
    +1 (410) 266-3600
    ------------------------------

    Original Message
    ALTA Marketplace


  • 4.  RE: Background Check Protocols: Handling Hits in Compliance with ALTA Best Practices

    Posted 11-14-2024 10:06

    Erin,

    We're a small company, and I'm not the person who makes hire/fire decisions, but I'm a supervisor and work on compliance with regulations and best practices. We have had a number of employees over the years who we've done background checks on. "Hits" that I'm mostly concerned with are those that would cause my E&O or bonding company to refuse to insure the employee or limit their activities. These would include:

    1) Financial crimes (embezzling, theft, check kiting or burglary) regardless of the age of the event. Shoplifting as a juvenile or early 20s wouldn't be a big problem, but as an adult, I'd be cautious.

    2) Certain drug crimes within the previous 5 years. For my purposes, "certain" would be distribution/dealing charges, rather than possession or paraphernalia. I'm in Texas, where drug possession is illegal, but use isn't as much of a concern to me as selling and dealing with criminals that could impact the workplace if things go badly. That said, though, more than one DUI/DWI for drugs or alcohol in the space of 5 years or so would also be a little concerning and worth keeping an eye on.

    3) Bankruptcy. This one kind of goes without saying as far as handling money. It probably wouldn't prevent us from keeping the person working in abstracting or doing closings, but the bonding company would probably object to the person handling money until the discharge by the court.

    4) Divorce or CPS suits. As hard as it is to hear, and as much as I empathize with people having family issues, the fact is financial problems can arise out of both types of cases, and intense stress in personal life can flow over into work life. While I wouldn't necessarily make employment decisions about a person with family problems, I might remove some detail oriented work (such as reconciling escrow accounts or writing final policies) or pair them with another team member to help keep an eye on their work product until things smooth out.

    Just my $0.02. :)



    ------------------------------
    Cathy Clamp CTIP
    Escrow Officer
    Heart of Texas Title Co., LLC
    Brady TX
    +1 (325) 597-0796
    ------------------------------

    Original Message
    ALTA Marketplace


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