Confused by the verbiage being thrown around in the background screening industry? We’re trying to remove jargon and simplify this space day by day. If you happen to run across a word or phrase you’re unfamiliar with, this should help!
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Adjudication Matrix: An adjudication matrix is a process in which a company reviews background check results against the company's standards to make an assessment on whether to hire the candidate. Yardstik allows you to define which types of charges you want to display on your background checks. Contact your customer success manager or [email protected] if you’d like to create one or update an existing matrix.
Adverse Action: The two-step process of notifying a candidate that they won't be selected for the role based on the background check results. Yardstik built-in the adverse action process to enable customers to be in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requirements for adverse action in the employment context. Refer to our Adverse Action page for more information
Application Programming Interface (API) - Application programming interface which is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other. Learn more about Yardstik’s API
Applicant Tracking System (ATS) - An applicant tracking system is a software application that enables the electronic handling of recruitment and hiring needs. Yardstik integrates with ATS platforms to create a better applicant experience. Applicants can stay in the company’s ATS system for the entire application process rather than bouncing from the ATS over to Yardstik and vice versa. Visit Yardstik’s Integration Directory to find the ATS your organization uses.
Canadian Police Information Center (CPIC): National database for background screening in Canada.
Court researcher/runner: A person who goes to courthouses to conduct public records searches. Runners and court researchers work for Yardstik partners to retrieve offline records.
Disposition: The current status or final outcome of a criminal case such as conviction or dismissed.
Dispute: Action by a candidate informing Yardstik or the hiring company that their report contains potentially inaccurate, incomplete, or non reportable information. For more information, visit the dispute process page
Equal Employment Opportunity: A series of employment proceedings that the EEOC regulates. According to these regulations, “individuals cannot be excluded from any participation, advancements, or benefits due to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other action that cannot lawfully be the basis for the employment action.”
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC): The federal agency that establishes statutes designed to eliminate discrimination in hiring.
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): protects information collected by consumer reporting agencies i.e Yardstik. Information in the report cannot be provided to anyone who doesn’t have a purpose specified in the act. For more information please visit Federal Trade Commission’s website
Motor Vehicle Report (MVR): A Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) pulls information regarding a driver’s history from a state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This is part of the background screening process for those who work in the transportation industry that aims to help employers hire applicants who have a reliable driving record and maintain safety and compliance on our roads.
Office of the Inspector General (OIG): The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) was created in the Department of Justice (Department) by amendment to the Inspector General Act of 1978. OIG's mission is to detect and deter fraud, waste, and abuse in Department programs and misconduct by Department personnel. An OIG search identifies individuals or entities that have been excluded from participation in Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. For more information, please visit the Office of the Inspector General’s website.
Package: A set of searches/screens
Pass-through Fees: Fees charged on specific screenings when the county, state or 3rd party provider charges an additional fee for the information for a data fee. Not all counties, states or 3rd party providers charge pass-through fees. Yardstik does not markup these fees. Please refer to our Pass-through Fees Help Article to learn more.
Personally Identifiable Information (PII): Information that, when used alone or with other relevant data, can identify an individual.
Precision Check: A precision check allows an organization to save money by prioritizing the least expensive verifications first (such as MVR), and only moving into the other verifications if the former are cleared (i.e. start with MVR, if passed move to criminal check, if passed move to drug screen). If a person has a DUI on their MVR which disqualifies them from employment, this would avoid additional charges and surcharges in the background screen. Contact your Yardstik representative for more information.
Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA): The Professional Background Screening Association (PBSA) was established to represent the interest of companies offering employment and tenant background screening services. Yardstik is a PBSA accredited organization. For more information, please visit https://thepbsa.org/
SOC II: SOC 2 is an auditing procedure that ensures your service providers securely manage your data to protect the interests of your organization and the privacy of its clients. For security-conscious businesses, SOC 2 compliance is a minimal requirement when considering a SaaS provider. Please refer to Yardstik’s Security and Compliance for more information.
Yardstik Verification Specialist: The Yardstik Verification team reviews and verifies each candidate's information to ensure completeness and accuracy. The specialists will initiate the Info Requested process if additional information is needed to confirm accurate PII.
These terms imply no legal commitments and are for informational purposes only.