Case lifecycle - KarmaCheck

Every case goes through multiple states within its lifecycle. The following diagram depicts the overall status of a case as it moves through its lifecycle.

Case statuses

A combination of the following case attributes determines the overall status, or the state, of a case:

Primary status: Every case has a primary status that describes the status of a case at a high level.
Secondary status: In certain scenarios, a case has a secondary status that provides additional information about its status.
Adverse action status: An adverse action flow can be initiated after a case reaches a primary status of Complete. When this occurs, an adverse action status is associated with the case.
Result type: The result type of a case indicates the outcome of the background check. A case remains open until a decision is made to place the candidate or initiate an adverse action.

The following tables describe the different states that a case can be in, and the corresponding statuses and result type that determine its overall status. See Case-level result and statuses for the system-defined IDs of all the possible statuses and result types.

Onboarding and processing

Overall status	Description	Primary status	Secondary status	Adverse action status	Result type	Final state?
Invitation sent	A case was ordered, and an invitation was sent to the candidate.	`Pending`	`Waiting for Authorization`	`null`	`Open`	No
Authorization in progress	Candidate-provided PII flow: The candidate started onboarding. Customer-provided PII flow: A case was ordered, and the system is verifying the input data.	`Pending`	`Authorization in Progress`	`null`	`Open`	No
Processing screenings	The processing of screenings is in progress. The case remains in this state until all screenings are complete.	`Pending`	`null`	`null`	`Open`	No
Waiting for parental consent	The processing of screenings is on hold until parental consent is provided on behalf of the minor candidate, who is under the age of 18.	`Blocked`	`Waiting for Parental Consent`	`null`	`Open`	No
Verifying candidate input	The candidate-provided PII differs from existing candidate data in the system. The case cannot proceed until it’s reviewed by KarmaCheck Support.	`Blocked`	`Verifying Candidate Input`	`null`	`Open`	No
Reviewing order	The customer-provided PII differs from existing candidate data in the system. The case cannot proceed until it’s reviewed by KarmaCheck Support.	`Blocked`	`Reviewing Order`	`null`	`Open`	No
Blocked	An unexpected issue occurred. Processing is blocked until KarmaCheck Support can review the case.	`Blocked`	`null`	`null`	`Open`	No
Canceled	The case is canceled. This occurs when the case gets replaced with a new case, or when the case gets archived while in a secondary status of `Waiting for Authorization`, `Authorization in Progress`, or a primary status of `Blocked`.	`Adjudicated`	`Canceled`	`null`	`Open`	Yes, unless KarmaCheck is explicitly asked to reopen the case

Processing complete

The “Processing complete” state is a rollup (aggregate) status, determined by the terminal status of all services or screenings ordered on the case. For details on individual service lifecycles and terminal statuses, see the Service Lifecycle page.

Overall status	Description	Primary status	Secondary status	Adverse action status	Result type	Final state?
Needs review	Processing is complete, and at least one screening requires customer review.	`Complete`	`Consider`	`null` or `Cancel`	`Open`	Yes, unless adverse action is initiated or another screening is added to the case
Clear	Processing is complete, and all screenings are clear.	`Complete`	`null`	`null`	`Open`	Yes, unless adverse action is initiated or another screening is added to the case

Adjudicated results

Overall status	Description	Primary status	Secondary status	Adverse action status	Result type	Final state?
Placed	The candidate meets the hiring criteria.	`Adjudicated`	`null`	`null` or `Cancel`	`Placed`	Yes, unless another screening is added to the case
Pre-adverse action	The adverse action flow was initiated on the case, which previously had a result of `Open` and a primary status of `Complete`. The candidate will receive a pre-adverse action letter.	`Complete`	`Consider` or `null`	`Pre-Adverse`	`Pre-Adverse Action`	No
Dispute adverse action	The candidate disputed the adverse action.	`Complete`	`Consider` or `null`	`Dispute`	`Dispute Adverse Action`	No
Adverse action	The final phase of the adverse action flow was initiated.	`Adjudicated`	`null`	`Post`	`Adverse Action`	Yes, but the case can be taken out of adverse action if a mistake was made

Status changes

Due to the fluid nature of background checks, a case can cycle through different states more than once. A case that reaches the end of a typical lifecycle could still be subject to change, so your system should account for potential state reversals. For example, a case with a Placed result can transition to Open with a secondary status of Consider (in other words, an overall status of Needs review). This might occur after the discovery of information that affects the initial adjudication decision.

​Case statuses

​Onboarding and processing

​Processing complete

​Adjudicated results

​Status changes

Case statuses

Onboarding and processing

Processing complete

Adjudicated results

Status changes