Account Set Up FAQs

Once you’ve submitted your end-user agreement, our team will begin the set up of your screening account. If further information is needed, we will email you with details. Once all the required paperwork has been received, you will receive an Occuscreen welcome email. The email is very comprehensive and provides detailed information on:

• Logging into your account
• Ordering a background check
• Initiating a drug screen
• Viewing a report

If you aren’t finding an answer to your question in the welcome email, please give us a call at 888-833-5304 or email info@occuscreen.com.

To add or remove a user(s) in your account, complete the Account Update Form and email it to operations@occuscreen.com

• If you prefer, you can print and sign the completed form and fax it to us directly at: 1-877-464-5656.

Your Occuscreen password will need to be reset every 90 days. If you need further assistance, you can email us at passwords@occuscreen.com or call us directly at 888-833-5304.

To update your credit card, please request a billing addendum by emailing operations@occuscreen.com.

After an order is submitted, it goes into our queue for processing. A member of our team will dispatch County Criminal Court Searches to our network of professional court researchers, if necessary, and we will manually process any searches we can complete in-house. When dispatched searches are returned to us from the county/state courts, we review the information, audit the report and send you an email alert as soon as results are posted.

Results will be reported by email notification (with a link to the Occuscreen website). Results are always posted to your Occuscreen Account, where you can view pending and completed reports around the clock.

Log on to your Occuscreen Account, and click “Reports” at the top of the screen. From this tab you can view reports that are currently in process, or access recently completed reports. Additionally, you can search by the applicant’s last name, last four of the applicant’s SSN or file number in the search box at the top right-hand side of your Occuscreen Account.

Please refer to our website for details related to the types of background checks we provide. If the search you are needing is not listed, or if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@occuscreen.com.

Background checks can vary depending on what type of screening your company needs. Please email us at info@occuscreen.com or give us a call for more information on pricing. We are happy to send you a Summary of Services which includes a description of available searches and standard pricing.

Despite the allure of the name, The National Criminal Database Search (also called Nationwide Jurisdiction Search and many other names) is not recommended as a standalone search as it is not comprehensive. Not all states and counties report information to the national criminal database, and there is no requirement by any authority to update it regularly or to remove information that is no longer relevant (such as dismissed cases.). This means you could be missing important information or receiving information that is outdated. For a fully comprehensive search we always recommend using the National Criminal Database only as a supplement to county court records.

Yes, The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires “a signed Disclosure and Authorization form from the applicant (prior to screening) which is a separate document from the application”. If you need a copy of a sample form, please email disclosures@occuscreen.com.

Once your account is set up, reports can be ordered through a variety of different methods, including:

• Online data entry through the Occuscreen secure website
• QuickApp process (electronic applicant Disclosure and Authorization form)

Employment screening reports are, on average, completed within 3 business days (dependent on the searches ordered on the report). Occuscreen strives to keep the reports to a 3 day turn-around. In some instances however, due to the searches and/or circumstances on a search, the report may go beyond this overall average. Common delays include, but are not limited to:

• County Criminal Court Searches – Clerk assisted searches, Court Clerks pulling files and/or records needing to be un-archived in a particular county, court closures
• Verifications – Not receiving return calls from Employers and/or schools being closed due to holidays.
• Additional information might be needed in some instances to confirm records and/or confirm information uncovered on a report.

If your background check is still pending after three business days, and there is no ETA written in the client notes section of the report on our website, you can email operations@occuscreen.com, provide the file number and request an ETA. We will then email you an ETA as soon as it has been received.

If a background check comes back with any adverse information, this will be indicated with a red flag in the report. If you have any questions concerning the information on the records, please give us a call. We are unable to give you advice regarding hiring decisions, however, and we would suggest you speak to your legal counsel with those questions. If you choose not to hire the applicant, you are required to follow the pre-adverse and adverse action process. (see below)

When a background check is used as hiring criteria and a job offer is withdrawn or denied because of information on the report, a two-step process is required by the FCRA. (When using a Third Party Administrator, such as Occuscreen, all background and drug screening reports are governed by The Fair Credit Reporting Act.)

Pre-Adverse Action Letter: Each employer is required to send a Pre-Adverse Action letter when they believe they may withdraw or deny a job offer, along with a copy of the applicant’s consumer report. A sample of the Pre-Adverse Action letter can be found either on the Occuscreen main website (here), or on the Occuscreen Results Website (for Occuscreen clients), alongside the completed results for the applicant. The FCRA then requires that the employer wait “ a reasonable time period” (ie: 5-10 days) for the applicant to respond allowing them to dispute any information on the report. If they do dispute the report, Occuscreen will guide them through the dispute process (as well as alert the client).

Adverse Action Letter: If there is no dispute from the applicant, the Adverse Action letter will be sent. This letter informs the applicant that employment has been denied or withdrawn due to information on the report. A sample of the Adverse Action letter can be found either on the Occuscreen main website (here), or on the Occuscreen Results Website (for Occuscreen clients), alongside the completed results for the applicant.

Both the Pre-Adverse and Adverse Action letters can be sent by the client via mail, or through a secure email link (which verifies the applicant’s Date of Birth and Zip Code prior to opening).

Please note: Some states and cities now require additional information and individualized information for each candidate on the Adverse Action Letters. For a list of State/City specific Adverse Action requirements, email info@occuscreen.com.

For any additional questions on this process, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The drug testing results will take approximately 24 hours for negative results (from receipt at the laboratory ), and an additional 24-72 hours for non-negative results (due to additional confirmation). If non-negative results are sent through the Medical Review process an additional 24-72 hours will be required for the MRO to contact the donor and confirm the result.

For urine drug testing, setting up your account with the laboratory will typically take 2-4 days after your Occuscreen account is active. Once your drug testing account is set up, you have the option to have hard copy Custody and Control forms (CCF) mailed to you, or utilize the electronic CCF process. These forms will be given to the applicant to take to a Patient Service Center for specimen collection. Collection sites for Quest or LabCorp can be located using the search tool below (or will be identified through the electronic process.)

For additional drug testing options, such as lab-based oral fluid testing or onsite instant screening products, please contact us for information.

To streamline the drug screening process, many clients set a protocol to have all positive results sent directly to Medical Review (see below.) If you do not have this protocol set you will have to contact us after you receive the results if further action is needed. If you have questions regarding results, email drugtesting@occuscreen.com.

MRO is a process for reviewing and confirming a positive drug screen result. A trained Medical Review Officer will contact the applicant and give them the opportunity to provide a valid prescription. If prescriptions are submitted for review, the MRO will evaluate the drug type and dosage compared to the substance and levels which presented in the applicant’s drug screen. If everything matches, the result will be marked “Negative – valid medical explanation for positive” and we will submit a negative result back to the employer.

If the information does not match, the positive result will stand. Some states require a medical review for every drug screen, positive and negative, or just for positive results. If you do not live in an MRO – required state, you have the option to send positive results through review. Standard turnaround time for an MRO is 24-72 hours. For additional information, go to our Medical Review Officer page.

Oral fluid (saliva) testing is an additional option for drug screening with a couple of unique benefits.

• The specimen is collected onsite through a simple and dignified process and shipped via FedEx to the laboratory for analysis
• Collections are witnessed
• Although accuracy levels are similar to a urine test (when lab-analyzed), detection windows are shorter, even for marijuana.

For more information on oral fluid testing, visit our drug screening services or contact us at info@occuscreen.com.

Marijuana is still federally illegal, so employers that are federal contractors must comply with federal law. If employers are not federal contractors, we have seen several responses.

• Employers comply with federal law and maintain a drug free workplace.
• Some employers adopt a more tolerant view of marijuana. This may include changing their policy regarding marijuana use, and sometimes removing marijuana from their pre-employment panels (but leaving it on their post-accident/suspicion panels).
• Some employers change their drug testing process to include oral fluid (saliva) drug testing rather than using urine screening. Oral fluid provides a more current result for marijuana usage, for additional information see our page on oral fluids screening.

Legalized recreational marijuana laws and the various state’s response to them are updated continually. Please email info@occuscreen.com for specific questions.

For any additional questions on this process, please do not hesitate to contact us.