Conducting a Background Check: Michigan Essential Information

Cindy Ellis - November 10, 2023

You may have a range of reasons for wishing to conduct a background check on someone in Michigan. Perhaps you’ve met someone through a dating app and would like to learn more about them. Or, maybe you’re researching long lost family members.

No matter why you’re conducting a background check, you may not know where to start. Keep reading if so. The following guide offers the general overview you need on this topic, explaining what a background check in Michigan involves and what you should keep in mind when you plan to conduct one.

What Does a Background Check in Michigan Consist Of?

The specific information you may uncover when running a background check on an individual can vary depending on the service you use and the types of information about said individual that may be available. Generally, a background check in Michigan could yield information relating to a person’s:

• Name and identity, including previous names
• Current and past addresses
• Age and date of birth
• Education
• Professional certifications and licenses
• Criminal background
• Marital status
• Sex offender status

A background check may also provide information about a person’s relatives and colleagues. You might thus perform a background check to learn more about family members or individuals in your professional network.

Reasons to Perform a Background Check in Michigan

There are various reasons you might consider performing a background check on someone. They include (but aren’t necessarily limited to) the following:

• Tracking down family members and friends
• Ensuring anyone you trust with the care of your children, elderly loved ones, or other vulnerable parties is a responsible person
• Learning more about your new neighbors
• Learning more about potential romantic partners
• Identifying anonymous individuals who may be contacting you

You may even run a background check on yourself. You might do so if you’re curious about the information others may find about you online.

Background Checks in Michigan: Important Information About Screening New Employees & Tenants

Under the Fair Credit and Reporting Act (FCRA), companies that qualify as “consumer reporting agencies” may provide clients with background check information. This information can be used to influence hiring decisions.

These agencies need to adhere to “reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information concerning the individual about whom the report relates.”

In other words, unless you’re working with a company that specifically offers employee background checks as a service, you should not rely on a background check tool to screen new employees and/or potential tenants. Doing so may constitute a violation of the FCRA.

Conducting a Michigan Background Check: Mistakes to Avoid

Along with using a background check tool for a purpose it isn’t supposed to serve, other errors and behaviors to avoid when conducting a background check on someone include:

• Using the information you find to stalk someone (including cyberstalking)
• Harassing the target of your background check
• Spreading rumors or harming someone’s reputation after performing a basic background check
• Confirming whether someone is eligible to participate in a financial program
• Researching the background of domestic help and making hiring decisions accordingly
• Contacting someone against their will

Review the guidelines and rules of any background check tool you use or service with whom you work. They may offer more information about what you should and shouldn’t do when using their service.

How Far Back Does a Michigan Background Check Go?

Per the FCRA, in Michigan, a company providing background checks can only provide information from the past seven years when it relates to an individual’s:

• Non-criminal driving record
• Arrest record
• Past judgments and/or civil suits
• Debts that are or have been in collections
• Tax liens if the individual has paid them

Any potentially negative information that’s more than seven years old will typically not show up on a person’s background check in Michigan. However, there are exceptions, such as for criminal convictions.

Michigan Background Check Laws

The FCRA is the main federal law governing background checks. In addition, state laws can influence how various parties may conduct background checks in Michigan. Such laws include:

37.2205a

This law states that employers and related parties may not maintain records on individuals related to misdemeanor arrests if those arrests didn’t result in convictions.

Again, employers in Michigan must already confirm they are abiding by the terms of the FCRA if they wish to look into the backgrounds of job candidates.

If a background search does reveal that a candidate has been arrested for a misdemeanor in the past, but they were never convicted, an employer can’t let it influence a hiring decision. Employers also cannot include this information in a candidate’s file or record.

Executive Directive 2019 – 10

Under this law, Michigan employers can no longer ask potential or current employees about their past salaries, nor may they attempt to search for such information online. Lawmakers feel that employers may use this information to (whether intentionally or unintentionally) to perpetuate wage gaps.

Internet Privacy Protection Act

Per this series of statutes, Michigan employers can’t ask for or seek an employee’s passwords to their personal social media accounts. That said, an exception could arise if an employer needed this information for the purposes of investigating alleged employee misconduct.

Conducting Background Checks in Michigan: Essential Tips to Keep in Mind

Using the right tool and ensuring you’re abiding by all applicable laws are critical when conducting background checks anywhere. Here are some other points to consider both when you conduct a background check (and when you act on the information it yields).

Coordinate With Experts if You’re Not Sure Whether You Can Conduct a Background Check

You may not be an attorney. That means there’s a reasonable chance you’re not thoroughly familiar with all the federal and state laws pertaining to background checks.

You may find yourself in a situation when you would like to conduct a background check but don’t know whether doing so is legal or ethical. In these circumstances, connect with others who can provide informed guidance.

For example, as an employer, you should coordinate with your company’s HR department to ensure you’re complying with the law if you look into the backgrounds of job candidates. In other circumstances, you may speak with a lawyer or similar legal expert to learn if the way you’re conducting a background check in Michigan is legal.

Allow Individuals to Explain the Results of Background Checks

There may be instances when you don’t feel the need to give someone the benefit of the doubt after learning about their past via a background check.

For instance, perhaps you’ve conducted a background check on a new partner and learned they appear to have lied about their history as a sex offender. If you find other documentation to confirm these results, you might decide you don’t need to give this individual the opportunity to explain themselves.

However, it’s often wise to provide such opportunities. Information that you receive from a background check can sometimes naturally exclude key details that might otherwise frame that information in a new light.

Before taking any adverse action against someone based on the results of their Michigan background check, strongly consider formally giving them the chance to explain themself.

Only Look for Relevant Information

Some background check tools and services allow you to specify what types of information you want to prioritize when researching an individual. If you do have this option, make a point of only checking for information that’s relevant based on your purposes for conducting a background check.

Maybe you want to learn more about the educational background of someone because you have reason to believe they’ve lied about this topic. If so, you likely wouldn’t need any information relating to this person’s criminal background (if any). You might thus choose to keep this information off their background check if doing so is an option.

Carefully Read the Report

Different background check tools and services may format their reports differently. Although it might seem like common sense, make a conscious point of carefully and thoroughly reading every word of a report you get back after conducting a background check.

You don’t want to arrive at false or inaccurate conclusions because you misread a report.

The Benefits of Conducting a Background Check in Michigan

The specific ways in which you benefit from using a background check service will depend at least partially on your reasons for conducting a background check. Generally, though, benefits of using such a service may include:

Saving Time

It’s true that much of the information a background check report provides may be information you could gather yourself through internet research, police inquiries, and other such methods.

The problem is, gathering this information on your own is prohibitively time-consuming. Using a background check tool substantially reduces the amount of time you might spend on this process.

Obeying the Law

It can’t be restated enough: You need to confirm you’re in full compliance with both federal and state laws when you act on the results of a background check. Don’t use the information a background check yields without knowing you’re doing so in a legal manner first.

Luckily, if you conduct a background check using a reputable service, you can at least be confident you’re not breaking any laws during the steps in which you’re simply gathering information. If you were to attempt to gather this information on your own, you run the risk of breaking a privacy law or related statute without realizing it.

Enjoying Peace of Mind

You may be researching how to conduct a background check in Michigan because you have questions about someone in your life. You may feel you can’t truly rest until you get answers to those questions.

A background check report may provide the answers you’re looking for. If it does, the report may offer you major peace of mind.

Learning About Yourself

A background check isn’t just a means of learning about someone else. You may also learn a lot about yourself by conducting a background check in Michigan.

Again, you might be conducting a background check into an alleged relative or loved one. The information that you learn about them could easily provide information about yourself as well. For instance, you may learn you have several noteworthy relatives of whom you were unaware.

Remember, you can also conduct your own background check if you wish. Knowing what types of information others may find about you online can help you get ahead of any misleading information that could otherwise negatively impact your life.

Learning Who Is Contacting You

Conducting a simple background check is often an effective way to identify a mystery caller or other such individual who is contacting you without revealing their identity.

You might also conduct a background check on someone contacting you if you believe they’re lying about their identity. You can even use a background check tool to identify someone based off of their phone number.

Just remember that a background check isn’t a substitute for police protection if someone is legitimately stalking or harassing you. While conducting a background check is a step you can and arguably should take in these circumstances, if you’re the target or a stalker or harasser, alert law enforcement accordingly.

Staying Safe

You will hopefully never make the acquaintance of someone who might harm you or your loved ones. Unfortunately, you can’t always trust everyone.

Conducting a background check on a suspicious new individual in your life is sometimes a very responsible decision. If you learn that an individual has a violent or otherwise unsavory background, you could use this knowledge to keep yourself and your loved ones safe.

Background Checks in Michigan: The Importance of Using the Right Tools

The examples here are just some of the reasons you may conduct a background check in Michigan. As always, remember to consider the law when doing so.

One way to potentially avoid legal issues while also ensuring the information you receive after conducting a background check is accurate is to use a proper background check tool or service. When you do, conducting a safe and legal background check becomes much easier!