Background Reports
Recommendation, 2006 Feb 28
Editors: Craig Corner, HireCheck; Chuck Allen, HR-XML Consortium, Inc.
Contributors:
Brad Whitney, American Background; Sue Morgan, HireCheck; Mark Sulimirski, ChoicePoint; Paul Kiel, HR-XML Consortium, Inc.; Dan Gagne, HireRight; Owen Wilson, Total Information Services, Inc.; Ralph Jimenez and Gary Nargiz, EdVerify, Mark Jones; Kim Bartkus, HR-XML Consortium;
Copyright statement
©2006 HR-XML. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Abstract
Background Reports is a component of the HR-XML Consortium’s Background Checking specification. As the name implies, Background Reports is designed to support the return of results from third-party providers of background checking services. The Background Reports schema is designed to support the return of very detailed, discretely fielded, background check results or, alternatively, the return of simple, unfielded text.
Status of this Document
2006-Jan: Default values have been removed from the BackgroundReports schema in accordance with the Technical Steering Committee's (TSC) Schema Design Guidelines.
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119.
Table of Contents
1.1.1 Domain Issues/Business Reasons
1.1.2 Components / Related Documentation
1.2.1 Items Within the Design Scope
1.2.2 Items Outside of Design Scope
2.1.19 EducationVerificationReport
2.1.20 EmploymentVerificationReport
2.1.21 MilitaryVerificationReport
2.1.26 ProfessionalLicenseReport
2.1.29 WorkersCompensationReport
3 Implementation Considerations
3.2 Laws Governing Background Checks
3.3 BackgroundReportPackage/ErrorReport
4 Appendix A – Document Version History
5 Appendix B – Related Documents
6 Appendix C – Reference Examples
6.1 BackgroundReport Examples: Parsed Results
6.2 BackgroundReports Example: Unparsed Results
6.3 BackgroundCheckReport – Report Status
6.4 BackgroundCheckReport – Error Report
1 Overview
The HR-XML Consortium’s Background Reports specification is designed to support the reporting of detailed, discretely fielded, background check results. The Background Reports specification supports both fielded and un-fielded reports. Background Reports supports a wide range of screening types (see 1.2.1, Items within the Design Scope).
Background Reports is a component of the HR-XML
Consortium’s Background Checking specification. An overview of the
supported business processes and terminology relating to this specification can
be found in the separate document titled Background Checking. See:
http://ns.hr-xml.org/2_5/HR-XML-2_5/Screening/US/BackgroundChecking.html
The following changes were made to the Background Reports specification. The schema, documentation and instances have been updated accordingly.
Background Reports schema and documentation
· Added optional element BackgroundReportPackage\ProcessingInformation
· Added optional element BackgroundReportPackage\PackageCost
· Added optional element BackgroundReportPackage\Screenings\Screening\ScreeningCost
1.1.1 Domain Issues/Business Reasons
Customers of background checking services have varying requirements. Many customers want to know whether any adverse information was found, but might not want to have any other results returned to them or stored on their computer systems. Other customers may want the screening firm to return complete or partial results. The screening service provider and its customer usually agree in advance on the appropriate type and level of reporting detail. The following are common scenarios:
§ A customer might want to be notified only that a screening has been completed and alerted only if any adverse information is found or if information of a particular type or severity is discovered. No report details are returned to the customer’s computer systems. The customer might receive merely an Internet address where he or she can securely login to review the adverse information that was discovered.
§ A customer might agree on criteria or a scoring system for the screening service to apply in evaluating candidates. In some cases, the customer might not receive any information other than the identification of the criteria or score resulting in the disqualification of an applicant. (Note that whether or not the full results are returned to the customer, having background check results available in a standard, discretely fielded format is valuable to the service provider in automating the scoring of results).
§ In some cases, customers may want partial information returned from a screening regardless of whether adverse results are found. For example, employers of licensed professionals may have legal or fiduciary responsibilities for tracking the status and expiration dates of licenses (as well as any sanctions or disciplinary actions by professional boards). A candidate’s verified educational history also may be valuable for an employer to capture and retain because such information may be useful to search or refer to in matching employees to assignments.
§ The customer’s industry or operational requirements may warrant the return of full screening results for evaluation by the customer.
1.1.2 Components / Related Documentation
BackgroundReports incorporates a number of component schemas. Details for major components are contained in the documents listed below:
Credit Reports
http://ns.hr-xml.org/2_5/HR-XML-2_5/Screening/US/CreditReport.html
Employment History
http://ns.hr-xml.org/2_5/HR-XML-2_5/CPO/EmploymentHistory.html
EducationHistory
http://ns.hr-xml.org/2_5/HR-XML-2_5/CPO/EducationHistory.html
MilitaryHistory
http://ns.hr-xml.org/2_5/HR-XML-2_5/CPO/MilitaryHistory.html
1.2 Scope
1.2.1 Items Within the Design Scope
BackgroundReports 2.0 support a wide variety of screening reports, including:
§ credit,
§ criminal records,
§ drug testing,
§ education verification,
§ employment verification,
§ military verification,
§ motor vehicle records,
§ professional sanctions,
§ skills assessment,
§ social security number verification,
§ professional license,
§ professional/personal reference reports,
§ workers compensation, and
§ customized screening and verification.
A description of these types of screenings can be found in
the separate overview document titled Background Checking. See:
http://ns.hr-xml.org/2_5/HR-XML-2_5/Screening/US/BackgroundChecking.html
1.2.2 Items Outside of Design Scope
A detailed discussion of the design scope can be found in the separate document, Background Checking.
2 BackgroundReports Schema
The following sections illustrate and explain each component of the BackgroundReports schema.
2.1.1 BackgroundReports
|
Component Name [Global types listed at the end of the table.] |
ContentModel* |
Definition |
|
/ |
- BackgroundReportsType - (1/1) |
A collection of one or more BackgroundReportPackages. |
|
/
BackgroundReports/ |
- EntityIdType - S (0/1) |
A reference to an identifier assigned by the screening service provider. |
2.1.2 BackgroundReportPackage
|
/ BackgroundReports/ |
type - ResultTypes
- |
Container to describe screening results for a single applicant. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- ResultTypes - |
Further defines the associated
element in the context provided. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
AccessCredential - AccessCredentialType - S
(0/*) |
Contains additional details related to an applicant. Contextual: The typical use of AccessCredential within this element would be in the situation where we are working with an ATS or other 3rd party that will be sending searches on behalf of a number of mutual clients. This Access Credential will contain the account information for the mutual client. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- EntityIdType - S (0/1) |
A reference to an identifier assigned by the screening service provider. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- EntityIdType - S (0/1) |
An identifier within the client's database that references the screening subject and/or screening. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- EntityIdType - S (0/1) |
An unique identifier for a Background Search or Assessment Package. Annotation: The package identifier associated with all screenings contained in this package. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- xsd:boolean - S (0/1) |
A boolean value to indicate if screening subject has requested a copy of the screening results. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- LegalTextType - S (0/*) |
Contains disclaimers or other legal information or notices. [Example(s): Legal text pertaining to the screenings in the package or screening request. ] |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- DocumentationType - S (0/1) |
Container for additional
information related to the specified search. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- FlexibleDetailType - S (0/*) |
A flexible container for passing other relevant details and search criteria. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/ BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- ScreeningStatusType - S (0/1) |
Indicates status of entire package. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
Organization - ReferralType - S (0/1) |
Provides client-supplied details of the search. [BusinessRule(s): Intended use is for confirmation of the search-subject information upon which the screening was based. ] |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- ScreeningCostType - S (0/1) |
The total cost to the client for the package of searches processed. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- ScreeningReportType - S (0/1) |
Contains information on the specific types of screenings to be performed and the information necessary to carry out those screenings. |
|
/ BackgroundReports/
BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- ErrorReportType - S (0/*) |
A container of information intended for reporting insufficient, ambiguous or incorrect information that prevents a action from being executed successfully. [BusinessRule(s): ErrorReport would not be used to report errors related to communication, server problems, or the validity of a BackgroundCheck request against the schema. ] |
2.1.3 LegalText
|
/
BackgroundReports/ BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- LegalTextType - S (0/*) |
Contains disclaimers or other legal information or notices pertaining to the screenings in the package. |
|
/ |
Text
– xsd:string - S (1/*) |
LegalTextType allows for the specification of certain formatting features. Some jurisdictions have regulations regarding the text size and appearance of legal notices. |
|
/
[LegalTextType]/ |
- xsd:string - S (1/*) |
Explanatory text. |
|
/
[LegalTextType] / |
- xsd:string - |
The type or classification for the related component. |
|
/
[LegalTextType] / |
- xsd:decimal - |
Font size in pica. |
|
/
[LegalTextType] / |
- xsd:string - |
Font color. For example, red. |
|
/
[LegalTextType] / |
- xsd:string - |
The name of the font. For example, Times Roman, Arial, Helvetica, etc. |
|
/
[LegalTextType] / |
- xsd:string - |
Font style. For example, bold, italic, regular, etc. |
|
/
[LegalTextType] / |
- xsd:string - |
Other font characteristics. |
2.1.4 SupportingDocumentation
|
/
BackgroundReports/ BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- DocumentationType - S (0/1) |
Additional information supporting the search. |
|
[DocumentationType] |
Documentation - TextImageType - S (1/*) |
Globally scoped data type. See element or attribute declaration for definition. |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ |
- TextImageType - S (1/*) |
Additional client-supplied information related to the specified search. |
|
|
InternetWebAddress
- [see include/import] - S (0/*) |
Contains a variety of options for describing the supporting documentation and its attributes. |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ Documentation/ |
- EntityIdType - S (0/*) |
The content of this element is an internal account or user identifier that will receive a copy of the screening results. The functionality of the content will be identified by the idOwner and name attributes. |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ Documentation/ |
- xsd:string - C (0/1) |
Explanatory text. |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ Documentation/ |
xsd:extension base: xsd:string |
Contains information about the type of document (e.g., resume, letter)and its media (e.g., .gif, txt, html, etc.). |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ Documentation/ FileReferences/ |
- DocumentationTypes - |
Identifies the type of document. Enumerations include: "distribution", "letter", "request", "release", "resume", "result", "results", and "order". Additional values are permitted if prefixed with “x:”. |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ Documentation/ FileReferences/ |
- MediaTypes - |
Indicates the type of media. Enumerations include: "image", "link", "txt", "html", "pdf", "doc", "rtf", "csv", "xls", "dbf", "tiff", "bmp", "emf", "exif", "gif", "jpeg", "png", "wmf", "zip", "prn", "dif", and "xml". Additional values are permitted if prefixed with “x:”. |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ Documentation/ |
xsd:extension base: xsd:base64Binary |
A reference to an image file. |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ Documentation/ Image/ |
- DocumentationTypes - |
Identifies the type of document. Enumerations include: "distribution", "letter", "request", "release", "resume", "result", "results", and "order". Additional values are permitted if prefixed with “x:”. |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ Documentation/ Image/ |
- MediaTypes - |
Indicates the type of media. |
|
/
[DocumentationType]/ Documentation/ Image/ |
- xsd:string - |
The name of the file containing the documentation. |
2.1.5 AdditionalItems
The HR-XML Consortium’s Background Checking specification makes extensive use of the AdditionalItems component both within the BackgroundCheck Request and BackgroundReports schemas. This component is intended as a flexible, but structured container that allows a client to pass through additional search criteria in BackgroundCheck Requests. AdditionalItems also allows a screening provider to respond to such criteria in BackgroundReports. AdditionalItems is one means that the Background Checking specification provides trading partners to implement custom screening types and custom screening criteria.
The AdditionalItems structure is available within each screening type within both the BackgroundCheck Request and BackgroundReports schemas. Both the BackgroundCheck Request and BackgroundReports schemas also contain a UserArea in several places within the schemas. The UserArea uses the “any” datatype, which allows it to accommodate any arbitratary XML structure (see the separate specification titled HR XML Schema Extension 1.0). As a general rule, implementers should first evaluate using the AdditionalItems component as a means to exchange additional search criteria or results before resorting to the use of the UserArea.
|
/
BackgroundReports/ BackgroundReportPackage/ |
- FlexibleDetailType - S (0/*) |
A flexible container for passing other relevant details and search criteria. |
|
[FlexibleDetailType] |
Sequence
- xsd:positiveInteger - S (0/1) |
Globally scoped data type. See element or attribute declaration for definition. |
|
/
[FlexibleDetailType]/ |
- xsd:positiveInteger - S (0/1) |
An integer indicating the sequence in which multiple items should be considered. |
|
/
[FlexibleDetailType]/ |
- EffectiveDateType - S (0/1) |
Date or time interval on or during which information is effective or known to be correct. |
|
/
[FlexibleDetailType]/ EffectiveDate/ |
- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1) |
The beginning effective date for the specified supporting information. |
|
/
[FlexibleDetailType]/ EffectiveDate/ |
- FlexibleDatesType - S (0/1) |
The ending effective date for the specified supporting information. |
|
/ [FlexibleDetailType]/ |
- xsd:string - S (1/*) |
Explanatory text. |
|
/
[FlexibleDetailType] / |
- FlexibleLineType - |
The type or classification for the related component. |
|
/
[FlexibleDetailType] / |
- xsd:string - |
Additional qualification or classification data. |
|
/
[FlexibleDetailType] / |
- VendorType - |
Identifies the vendor or supplier. |
|
/ |
- [Union]: FlexibleLineTypes, xStringPatternExtensionType |
An extensible list of types. Used to identify the type of AdditionalItem. Enumerations include “Header”, “Informational”, “Detail”, “Trace”, “RawData”, and “Unknown”. Additional values are permitted if prefixed with “x:”. |
|
/ |
xsd:restriction base: xsd:string [Enumerations]: Header, Informational, Detail, Trace, RawData, Unknown |
A list of types used to identify the type of AdditionalItem. |
2.1.6 ScreeningStatus
|
/ |
- ScreeningStatusType - S (0/1) |
Indicates status of entire package. |
|
/ ScreeningStatus/ |
- ScreeningOrderStatusTypes - S (1/1) |
Indicates order status. Valid values include: New; InProgress; Cancelled; Suspended; Completed; Fulfilled; Delayed; and Hold. These enumerations can be extended with an "x:" followed by a string. |
|
/ ScreeningStatus/ |
- ResultStatusTypes - S (0/1) |
Indicates status of entire package. Pass; Fail; Review; Hit; Clear; UnableToContact; and UnableToVerify. These enumerations can be extended with an "x:" followed by a string. |
|
/ ScreeningStatus/ |