Terms and Conditions
Permission to use this website, Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com], is conditioned upon your acceptance, without modification, of the terms and conditions set forth herein. Your use of the website constitutes and reflects your express agreement to the terms articulated herein. Note that the terms and conditions may change at any time. Therefore, you should review the applicable terms and conditions at the beginning of every return visit to this website.
By using this website, you indicate your understanding and agreement that:
- You will only use this website for personal use. You will not use this website for any commercial purpose, absent the express prior written consent of Ask the Seal.com.
- Neither Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] nor the Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] Seal of Approval guarantees in any way the job skills, quality of work, or performance (contractual or non-contractual) of the companies, entities, organizations, or individuals identified on this website. Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] expressly disclaims any such expressed or implied warranty, guarantee or representation.
- Companies who apply for the Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] Seal of Approval must certify that any of their employees who have direct contact to the public or direct access to personal customer information meet certain minimum criteria (described below), which includes passing annual background checks as described herein.
- The Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] Seal of Approval is only granted to companies who meet the following minimum criteria:
- State License Verification: Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] verifies any specific state licenses the company claims to have. Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] recommends that website users conduct their own searches to verify status and identify additional potentially relevant license requirements and inquire directly with the company regarding the same.
- Insurance Verification: Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] verifies that any company which claims to maintain a liability policy and insurance has such a policy; however, You agree to independently check to ensure the status, limitations and dates of any policy. Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] also verifies that any company which claims to maintain a workers’ compensation policy and insurance has such a policy; however, You agree to independently check to ensure the status, limitations and dates of any policy.
- Bond Verification: Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] verifies that any company which claims to be bonded is in fact bonded.
- Sex Offender Registry Search: Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] checks the state sex offender registry in the state of incorporation[EJM1] of the company and the individual’s current state of residence to confirm that no company owner, principal, or employee on the Public Interaction Employee Roster is listed in that database as a sex offender. The sex offender registry search conducted by Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] is not exhaustive. Neither Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] nor the Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] Seal of Approval guarantees in any way that a company owner, principal, or employee on the Public Interaction Employee Roster has not ever been listed on any sex offender list.
- Criminal Records Search: For each individual listed on End-User’s PIER roster, Ask the Seal annually conducts a search in a national criminal database using the person’s name, date of birth, and social security number (if available). Ask the Seal then conducts a county level search to verify any hits on the national criminal database. Ask the Seal then conducts a county court record search using the person’s name, date of birth and social security number (if available) for the individual’s county of residence. The Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] Seal of Approval will only be given to those companies whose employees on the PIER roster have not been determined to have been convicted as an adult of any of the following disqualifying offenses, where the date of disposition of the offense or release of incarceration was within seven years and where the records are not sealed or expunged:*
Murder; attempted murder; solicitation of murder; manslaughter; concealment of a homicidal death; kidnapping or child abduction; unlawful restraint or forcible detention; indecent solicitation of a child; sexual exploitation of a child; sexual misconduct with a person with a disability; exploitation of a child; child pornography; **assault (felony); aggravated assault; **battery; aggravated battery; stalking; home invasion; rape; sexual assault; criminal sexual abuse; **theft (felony); identity theft; **forgery; robbery; armed robbery; aggravated robbery; burglary; criminal trespass to a residence; arson; attempted arson; embezzlement; unlawful use of a weapon.
*Convictions where the disposition date or release of incarceration is more than seven (7) years from the date of the report, are not disqualifying offenses.
**Any Misdemeanors of these offenses will be disqualifying where the where the date of disposition of the offense or release of incarceration was within five years and where the records are not sealed or expunged
The criminal records search conducted by Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] is not exhaustive. Neither Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] nor the Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] Seal of Approval guarantees in any way that a company owner, principal, or employee on the Public Interaction Employee Roster has not been convicted of a crime or otherwise violated the law.
5. While companies are required to update their Public Interaction Employee Roster any time a change occurs, Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy of information provided by the employer or the underlying background checks.
6. Although Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] takes certain steps to apply specific criteria to the background of companies, entities, organizations, and people identified on this website prior to granting them the right to use the Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] seal of approval, Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] does not in any way guarantee that the companies, entities, organizations, or people identified on this website will behave safely, legally, politely, or in any other desired or expected way. Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] expressly disclaims any such guarantee or representation. Rather, Ask the Seal.com’s Seal of Approval is granted only on the basis that the receiving company has met the criteria above.
7. Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] does not make employment decisions regarding any individuals identified on the website nor does it give any input on employment eligibility for such individuals.
8. The information contained on this website is being provided to you “AS IS”. Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] makes no representation or warranty whatsoever, express or implied, including but not limited to, warranties of merchantability or fitness for particular purpose, or warranties arising from the course of dealing or a course of performance with respect to the accuracy, validity, or completeness of the information contained on this website.
9. You will indemnify and hold harmless Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com], its successors and assigns, officers, directors, and employees from any and all claims, actions or liabilities arising from your use and/or reliance of or relating to the information on this website, or your dealings, contracts, or experiences with the companies, entities, organizations, or individuals identified on this website or relating to the Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] seal of approval.
10. All of the information and content on this website is the sole and exclusive property of Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com], and you have no permission or right to reproduce or publish such information or content without the express prior written consent of Ask the Seal.com.
11. Ask the Seal.com [theseal.com] is a free consumer service paid for by Ask the Seal.com’s customers through their payments associated with employee and company investigative checks and paid dues associated with this website. If you have any questions concerning the terms and conditions of Ask the Seal.com’s website, please contact us.