Yes, we take every measure possible to ensure your peace of mind and keep your business information and the personal information of your employees safe. Any and all information provided to Whelan & Whelan regarding services will be considered confidential in nature and is never shared with or sold to any third party sources. Information provided by clients is only used for the service being rendered and will not be disseminated without express written consent of the client. Our job is to protect our clients from unnecessary risk, and we take that responsibility very seriously. For more information, please view our Privacy Policy

Absolutely, we specialize in premiere investigative products and pride ourselves in providing our clients with the highest level of professionalism available, from initial consultation to final work product our focus is on obtaining the information you need with uncompromising quality and skill. You can rely on our experienced professionals to get the job done, the right way with every case. For more information on how we view professionalism, please visit How Do You Define Professionalism? on our blog.

Yes, our company is licensed as a private investigation firm by the New York State Department of State, Division of Licensing Services. 

In today’s economy, businesses simply can’t afford to make bad hiring decisions. While there are no guarantees that a background review will ensure that you find a good match for your company, a proper and comprehensive investigation will provide you with relevant information to be in the best position possible to make good, informed hiring decisions. A thorough background investigation will allow you to corroborate details provided by selected applicants and uncover any potentially derogatory issues that may expose your company to liability.

Every bad hire that you make can negatively impact your business in a variety of ways, ranging from monetary losses from compensation packages and liability lawsuits to the impact on employee morale and customer service. A thorough and properly performed background investigation can help weed out applicants that are ‘padding’ their resume to appear qualified for the position and leave you with a pool of candidates that specifically match the skills desired. We don’t just offer pre-employment screening services, we provide you with peace of mind when making hiring decisions.

Long answer short, probably. If (1) you are utilizing an investigator or background check provider, such as Whelan & Whelan, and (2) you are requesting a background investigation on a new hire, current employee, or someone that you will have decision-making authority concerning their employment, you will need a signed release form. This is a requirement under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. There may be additional requirements under state and federal law that you will have to apply to your situation, but we will always take the time to fully discuss this information with you at the start of any investigation. 

Of course you can, and most people would agree that you probably should. If you are hiring an individual to care for a loved one, it makes a lot of sense to have a background review performed. In addition to criminal history checks, sexual offender registry searches, and driver’s licensure inquiries, we will verify any credentials that are claimed as well. We take every step to ensure that this person who you are trusting with your children, elderly relative, or other loved one is exactly who they are holding themselves out to be. You will have peace of mind knowing that you selected the right person with the proper qualifications to care for your family member.

Not even close. There is a common misconception that an internet search is synonymous with a background check. While it is possible to obtain very basic personal information and public record documents for some individuals, it is a misconception that you can obtain anything on anyone just using an Internet search. With over 20 years of industry experience, the investigative professionals at Whelan & Whelan go beyond simple Internet searches to uncover all relevant, publicly accessible information relating to the subject of a background investigation. We know how to properly perform compliant background investigations and the sources to access to unearth useful and accurate information.

Additionally, we take the time to directly verify all potentially derogatory records that may be unearthed and guide you through the proper procedures for utilizing that information with respect to a new hire. Knowing where to look and how to use what records are found makes all the difference between good hiring decisions and leaving it to chance. We get you the entire background of an individual with verified source data upon which you can rely. If nothing comes back from an Internet search that person might have a clean background, but do you really want to take that chance when you could know for sure?

When considering using an ‘instant background’ service, keep in mind that you will not receive a thorough search. The data provided by these companies is often times outdated, inaccurate, and incomplete. As a result, you are paying for a service that is in no way comprehensive and never provides a good basis for making informed decisions. For a more detailed answer to this question, please see Employee Background Checks Headed Down a Troubling Path” to a relevant article on our blog covering instant and automated background checks.

We will never provide you with stacks of unverified records to sort through as a final work product. Companies that offer instant background checks are known for providing clients with half true information, a ‘data dump’ of possible same name matches to your subject that you have to spend valuable time to attempt to verify yourself, and notoriously miss pertinent information. Choosing to use any information gathered in this manner exposes your company to potentially serious legal liability. Let our professionals help you to make informed business decisions based on verified facts.

Despite what you may have heard, you can use information obtained from a properly performed background investigation when making hiring decisions. There are legal guidelines that must be followed with proper background review and the records that are uncovered, but the discussions surrounding background checks are full of half-truths and misinformation. Between EEOC regulations, FCRA guidelines, and ‘Ban the Box’ laws compliance can be challenging. That is why it is beneficial for you to speak with us regarding our services. We are professionals who understand the law inside and out, because it is our business to know it. We can help ensure your company’s compliance, contact us. 

We offer a number of investigative products that were designed with flexibility in mind so that we can effectively meet our clients’ needs. In addition to our pre-packaged products, we are able to design custom investigative projects tailored to meet each of our client’s specific needs. We pride ourselves on providing thorough, professional, and, most of all, useful information to our clients. Our level of customer service is unparalleled, and that makes all the difference.

Investigative Due Diligence is the practice of performing an in-depth analysis of the background and reputation of a company and key personnel for the purpose of determining the viability of an investment, merger, acquisition, or other business relationship. Essentially, this is an extremely in-depth background investigation on an individual or company. This process consists of a thorough review of public records to identify any negative factors that impact your decision. The records reviewed typically include all manner of legal filings, corporate registration materials, regulatory filings, government watch lists, public company filings, as well as news and media materials. In addition, direct interviews, credential verifications, reputation assessment, and online web presence research is performed as requested/needed to further develop an accurate background of the individual and/or business. Our Investigative Due Diligence products were professionally developed to enhance your overall due diligence and risk assessment processes.

These two products were designed for different client needs. Our Background Screening services were created primarily for use in pre-employment and post-employment investigations, tenant screening, or any other situation where you would need a focused amount of information about an individual. We offer a variety of pre-designed options (with a number of Investigative Upgrade selections) as well as a customized background package, which allows our clients to request an investigation with only extremely targeted research. On the other hand, our Investigative Due Diligence packages were developed for comprehensive risk assessment and evaluation for use in investments and other business relationships and, as a result, are far more in-depth than a standard background check. This service incorporates a comprehensive review of all available primary and secondary sources of information in order to uncover any potential risks that may impact your deal or business venture.

Since much of today’s personal and professional interactions are online, it is becoming more important to understand the whole picture. Our Social Media and Internet Investigations allow our customers to go beyond the scope of a traditional background check or due diligence investigation to review the online reputation and overall internet presence of an individual and/or company. This research has the opportunity to discover potentially derogatory information before you make a decision based on resume materials alone. Understanding how someone is perceived and how they conduct themselves on social media platforms, blogs, and discussion boards will help you to make more informed decisions and avoid a bad hire or bad investment situation.

This specific service is available as an addition to a background check or investigative due diligence project or can be ordered as a stand-alone investigation.

We created this service to be beneficial to those in the legal community, as well as businesses of all sizes. Attorneys benefit from our social media investigations by locating online profiles of clients, claimants, parties, witnesses, and jurors for the purpose of identifying information relevant to a case and to uncover potential misconduct or unauthorized dissemination of information. Businesses can utilize this service for pre- and post-employment screening, brand reputation monitoring, as well as uncovering copyright and trademark infringement. These can be requested once or be performed on a regular basis at the client’s request, thus providing real-time updates and information when you need it.

As with all of our professional services, we perform our social media investigations and monitoring services in full legal compliance. We do not engage in social engineering, hacking, or any other unethical practices to obtain information.