An employee background check can include a number of verifications such as the applicant's educational background, previous employment, social security number, credit history, criminal history, drug history, and medical history.

All these checks are to ensure the employer or the company that the candidate is indeed trustworthy and would not create any problems with the other employees or company records or in general with the company in the future.

An employee background screening might involve some basic information such as educational qualifications, date of birth, previous employers and the references provided. However, some background checks could also be industry specific.

If the post is for that of a driver of a utility vehicle or company vehicles, it might prove useful to check the driver record. Motor vehicle or past driving history might provide an indication of the persons behavior with a vehicle. Also, a driver who deals with school buses and who deals with kids needs to have a clean criminal and sexual abuse record.

Companies that require the applicant for office jobs need to know about the applicants criminal records to avoid any thefts in the office. Also a sexual harassment record can prove to be very helpful in the long run, particularly if the person is in an office with female employees.

If the application is for a worker who might need to lift weights or other work that might require physical labor, it might help to check the applicants medical history. Also, the workers compensation history can help the company from avoiding hiring someone who is forever looking for chances to sue the owners or the company.

Companies that provide corporate credit cards must check for the bankruptcy history of the applicant along with the credit rating. This will help in avoiding hassles relating to the credit card.

Employers must take care to get to know that the applicant does not have a drug related problem as this might make the situation in the office dicey. This can be done along with the medical background check.

Employers can either hire an agency for the applicants pre-employment screening or have a department within the company itself to deal with such screenings. However, these agencies have to follow certain rules dictated by the FCRA while conducting a background check. The reports must contain accurate information and must not mislead the employer.