You asked for information about the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS), including a description of the association, where it is located, what it does, and the types of background screening its members conduct.

SUMMARY

NAPBS is a North Carolina-based trade association of more than 300 companies engaged directly or indirectly in conducting background screening. NAPBS was founded in 2003. Its stated purposes include (1) fostering professionalism and high business standards in the field of background screening and (2) discussing, developing, and advancing learning opportunities and professional education in background screening

(http: //www. napbs. com/images/pdf/By-laws. pdf ).

NAPBS provides training for its members, which provide employment screening services, tenant screening services, or both to end users and support services to screeners. It also functions as a lobbying group for members, representing their interests before Congress, state legislatures, and local governments. It does not conduct background screenings.

There are three classes of membership in the organization—regular, associate, and affiliate. Membership fees range from $ 50 to $ 2,000.

Background check fees vary depending on the type and complexity of the checks and the company conducting them. The types of checks include criminal history record, credit, professional license, and employment.

NAPBS

The organization's stated mission is to “promote ethical business practices, promote compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and foster awareness of issues related to consumer protection and privacy rights within the background screening industry. ” Its stated purposes, according to its bylaws, are to (1) “foster professionalism and high business standards in the field of background screening”; (2) “provide a forum for discussing, developing, and advancing mutually agreed upon purposes of members”; and (3) “discuss, develop, and advance learning opportunities and professional education in background screening. ”

NAPBS carries out its work through various committees. Among them are the Ethics and Accreditation and the FCRA Best Practices committees. The former works to protect consumers and promote ethical business practices by “establishing standardized industry technology, ethical guidelines for consumer report practices, and security standards for consumer information. ” The latter works to establish and promote best industry practices for its members regarding compliance with applicable laws.

NAPBS also functions as a lobbying group for its member organizations, representing their interests before Congress and state and local governments. It keeps members informed through newsletters and other publications. It also provides various training programs for them. It has plans to conduct research and to create business standards and certification programs for members' employees.

NAPBS is currently addressing questions of unfair barriers to employment and invasion of privacy as a result background screenings. The association's goal is to create uniform and standardized guidelines for the industry (http: //www. usdoj. gov/olp/pdf/0394_001. pdf ).

MEMBERSHIP

There are three classes of NAPBS membership—regular, associate, and affiliate. Regular members are companies that conduct employment screening, tenant screening, or both on behalf of employers and landlords. Associate members are companies and individuals who support the industry by providing and managing data. These include public record retrievers and other data providers. Affiliate members provide support to regular members, such as insurance, legal, and consulting services. Human resource professionals who have an interest in the field may also become affiliate members.

NAPBS has adopted a code of conduct and recommends that employees of member organizations adhere to it. Among other things, the code requires employees to discharge their duties and professional responsibilities competently and in accordance with appropriate laws and regulations, adhere to moral and ethical standards, and prevent improper disclosure of information.

Membership fees for regular members are based on the number of employees in the company as follows:

Part-time employees count as one-half of a full-time employee.

The fees for associate members are: (1) providers (other than county court retrievers) $ 350 and (2) court record retrievers—$ 10 per state served with a $ 50 minimum and a $ 250 maximum.

The fee for affiliate members is $ 150.

BACKGROUND SCREENING

There are many different types of background checks, ranging from very basic to very comprehensive. Some may require investigations that look back a few years; others may cover many years. Some may involve a single state search or single database; others may involve a search of many states and multiple databases. Examples of searches include:

1. credit search, which involves searching credit bureau files to determine consumer credit activity over a seven-year period, detailing overdue payments, collections, tax liens, judgments and bankruptcies, among others;

2. state and national criminal database search, which involves searching criminal databases, including correction and proprietary databases of private entities;

3. sexual offender database search, which involves searching sexual offender databases and registries, including those maintained by local, state, or federal governments;

4. municipal civil record search, which involves searching for civil lawsuits at appropriate municipal courts; and

5. bankruptcy search, which involves searching a national database of bankruptcies, state and federal tax liens, and judgment liens.

The fee for the checks varies depending on the nature and complexity of the search and the company that conducts it.

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