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Although jobless claims have dropped, there are still a lot of people looking for work.

For the FOX 31 Facebook story of the day people want to know what Georgia background checks reveal about a person.

There are three different types of background checks that an employer can perform to find out whether or not a person is qualified or responsible enough for the job.

The first is a reference check in which an employer calls a former job to find out a person's previous job title, salary, and sometimes job performance.

Elizabeth Bille, the Assistant General Counsel for the Society for Human Resource Managers, says most of the time previous employers will only reveal whether or not a person worked at their company. She says often times they do not divulge job performance about former employees.

During a criminal background check, companies look through police and court records to see if a job candidate has any criminal convictions.  Although previous addresses may be included, most personal information is not revealed during a background check.

Officials say although it’s rare, some employers do require credit checks for positions dealing with sensitive financial information, like in the case of bank workers or accountants.

“The employer does not see a credit score for you but what they may be able to get is information about whether you've had any legal judgments against you regarding debt or if you've had any liens put on your house because of unpaid debt,” said Elizabeth Bille, Asst. General Counsel for the Society of Human Resource Managers.

Before an employer can outsource a person’s name to a company for a criminal or credit check they must get permission from the job candidate.

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