Terms of Use

Last Updated October 30, 2025

Welcome to eSOPH, the web-based software system developed and owned by Miller Mendel Inc. (“MMI,” “us,” or “we”) to assist with pre-employment background investigations. eSOPH allows public agencies and other organizations that work with MMI (our “Clients” or “MMI Clients”) to better manage background investigations of persons who apply for paid and volunteer positions (“Applicants”). You and MMI may be referred to collectively as “the Parties”. MMI Clients may use eSOPH to receive and share information about Applicants. All hiring decisions and determinations relating to background investigations are made solely by the MMI Client(s) which are the hiring entities. MMI does not participate in the decision-making process.  Please direct any questions to the MMI Client to which you are applying.

THESE TERMS OF USE GOVERN ANY AND ALL USE OF eSOPH BY YOU AS AN APPLICANT. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS OF USE CAREFULLY PRIOR TO ANY USE OF eSOPH.

Acceptance of these Terms

By entering your electronic signature and clicking “Continue” below or by using eSOPH in any manner, you agree to be bound by these Terms. These Terms will remain in effect as long as you use eSOPH and the MMI Client stores your application information with MMI. If you do not agree to these Terms of Use, or your legal guardian has not already submitted a signed release agreement, you must not use eSOPH, and you should submit your application materials in an alternative method, as directed and controlled by the MMI Client with whom you have applied for an employment or a volunteer position.

  1. Eligibility

To use eSOPH, you must reside in the United States and be at least 18 years old or at least 16 years old and your legal guardian must have submitted a signed release agreement for your use of eSOPH. By using eSOPH, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements. If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not use eSOPH.

  1. No Employment Relationship

As an Applicant, you will use eSOPH in connection with your application for a paid or volunteer position with an MMI Client. You understand you have no employment relationship with MMI and that you and MMI are independent parties. Nothing in these Terms shall be interpreted to grant either MMI or you  the power to: direct and control the day-to-day activities of the other; constitute the Parties as partners, joint venturers, co-owners, principal-agent, or otherwise participants in a joint or common undertaking; or, except as expressly provided herein, allow either party to create or assume any obligation on behalf of the other for any purpose whatsoever. You acknowledge and agree that you will not be entitled to participate in and/or receive any benefits from MMI under any circumstances, we have no obligation to withhold any income or other payroll taxes on your behalf. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless MMI from and against any losses that we incur as a result of any breach of your obligations under this provision.

  1. Registration

The MMI Client to which you are applying will set up an account for you on eSOPH, using an email address you provided. You will then create your own private password for your account and establish other security related login credentials to protect your account. You may not use false identities or impersonate any other person, nor use credentials that you are not authorized to use. You are the only person who is authorized to use your account and login credentials. You will not reveal your account information, including any login credentials, to anyone else. Do not disclose your login credentials to the MMI Client you are applying to. You accept responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account. MMI reserves the right to refuse service or terminate accounts in its sole discretion. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising out of your failure to maintain your account security. You agree to notify the MMI Client and MMI immediately of any suspected theft, loss, or fraudulent use of your login or password.

  1. Your Privacy

You acknowledge that you have read and consent to the eSOPH Privacy Policy. Each time a questionnaire or form is saved by you on eSOPH, eSOPH captures and saves the information you have entered, along with the date and time. This means if you provide an answer on a questionnaire or form and it is saved (either automatically, or by you clicking Save), and then you return and change your answer, both answers will be logged and viewable to the MMI Client. Your use of eSOPH serves as your unconditional permission for MMI and the MMI Client to save this information, and for the MMI Client to review and use such information, as they see appropriate.

MMI does not control information and materials uploaded by you onto eSOPH, except that Basic Applicant Data will be retained in eSOPH and be viewable by any MMI Clients you apply to using eSOPH. The scope, content, format and details of such information and materials is completely within the exclusive control of MMI Clients and their authorized Users. MMI does not create, select, control or audit the questions asked of you, or the types of information requested of you, by MMI Clients. The questions and information requests you are asked are developed and published to eSOPH by the MMI Client for which you applied for employment.

At their sole discretion and control MMI Clients may choose to share your information entered in eSOPH to other parties.  Any use of your information in eSOPH by an MMI Client is governed by the privacy policies of the MMI Client(s) you submit applications to . You are aware of and accept the privacy policies of those Clients. You hereby release MMI, our affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents, from and against any and all claims, costs, losses, damages, liabilities, judgments and expenses (including without limitation reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or in connection with any unauthorized or invalid disclosure of your information in eSOPH by an MMI Client.

You hereby agree that MMI may disclose certain information to MMI Clients about your background investigation(s) with other MMI Clients. This information (“Basic Applicant Data”) includes: your name(s), date of birth, agency and position names applied for, dates you were entered into eSOPH or closed in eSOPH, and the contact information for the agencies to which you have applied. How this works: When an MMI Client enters your basic personal information into eSOPH, eSOPH will disclose to the MMI Client if you have been entered into eSOPH before by other MMI Clients who use eSOPH. MMI does not and will not use your personal information for marketing purposes. For more information about MMI’s privacy practices, please see our Privacy Policy.

  1. Applicant Responsibility for Use of eSOPH

You are solely responsible for your use of eSOPH and for any results of your use of eSOPH. You will be able to enter, upload and save certain content, information, and materials to eSOPH, including but not limited to details of your criminal, financial, family, friends, references, neighbors, and employment or education history, as may be requested by the MMI Client engaged in your pre-employment background investigation or as you choose to submit to eSOPH (collectively, “Applicant Data”). Once you submit Applicant Data to the MMI Client, you will not be able to access or alter the information submitted, but you may be permitted to supplement your submissions solely dependent upon the MMI Client’s policies.

You are solely responsible for your Applicant Data and the consequences of submitting it to eSOPH. MMI has no responsibility and assumes no liability for your Applicant Data or the outcomes of submitting it to eSOPH or any MMI Client, beyond receiving your submissions and protecting the privacy of any of your Applicant Data that is transmitted or resides within the eSOPH system, as described herein. You represent that (a) your Applicant Data is accurate, true, and up to date, and does not misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any organization; (b) you have the right to submit your Applicant Data to eSOPH; (c) your Applicant Data does not infringe any other person’s or entity’s rights (including, without limitation, copyrights, trademarks, rights of publicity or privacy rights) or violate any applicable laws, rules or regulations, these Terms, or any posted policies of MMI or the MMI Client; and (d) your Applicant Data does not promote any unlawful activity, seek to harm or exploit others, support spamming or hacking, or contain any content that is false, defamatory, libelous, obscene, harassing, discriminatory, profane, or otherwise offensive, damaging, unlawful, or harmful to others, as determined by MMI.

Please direct all questions regarding Applicant Data you submit via eSOPH to the MMI Client to which you applied. You understand MMI cannot and will not provide you with copies or any other replication of the Applicant Data you enter onto eSOPH except as instructed by the MMI Client.

eSOPH is not a data storage service and is not a substitute for your recordkeeping practices. You understand and agree that, prior to entering your Applicant Data, you should create and retain a backup copy of all Applicant Data that you enter on eSOPH. MMI DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT ACCESS TO APPLICANT DATA WILL ALWAYS BE AVAILABLE, OR THAT IT WILL BE FREE FROM SYSTEM ERRORS, CLIENT-SPECIFIC TERMS, DATA CORRUPTION OR ACCIDENTAL DELETION OR LOSS.

In consideration for your use of eSOPH, you grant MMI an irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, fully paid, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use, reproduce, make derivative works from, distribute, publish, display, or perform your Applicant Data in whole or in part, by any and all means and media, solely in connection with MMI’s provision of services to you and MMI Clients, as well as for MMI’s own internal business purposes. Your use of eSOPH, and MMI’s provision of your Applicant Data to an MMI Client, does not create or imply any endorsement of or affiliation with you.

  1. Contents and Ownership

Unless otherwise expressly indicated, eSOPH and the information contained on eSOPH, including but not limited to all data, software, images, content, text, information, page headers, button icons, designs, data, graphics, slogans, photographs, written information, and other materials, as well as names, logos, taglines, trade dress, and other trademarks displayed on eSOPH, are copyrights, trademarks, trade dress or other intellectual property owned, controlled, or licensed by MMI (collectively, the “Contents”). The Contents are protected by U.S. and foreign copyright, trademark, trade dress, or other proprietary right laws and international conventions. The absence of a product name or logo from this list in no way constitutes a waiver of MMI’s intellectual property rights. No material contained on eSOPH should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any trademark displayed on eSOPH without the express written agreement of MMI. All rights to eSOPH and the Contents are reserved, unless expressly granted herein.

  1. Limited License to Use eSOPH

Subject to these Terms of Use, MMI hereby grants you a limited, non-exclusive, nontransferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use eSOPH for your own personal, non-commercial use solely to facilitate your application process to MMI Clients. Access to eSOPH is licensed to you, not sold. MMI reserves all rights not expressly granted in these Terms.

  1. Availability

MMI  will use commercially reasonable efforts to maintain availability of eSOPH, but there will be times when eSOPH is unavailable. You may need to update your internet browser and some hardware from time to time to permit ongoing compatibility with eSOPH. MMI will make every effort to assure continuous uptime; however, this is not guaranteed, and software and equipment updates may cause the Service to be down. MMI is not liable for any delays, interruptions, or other transmission errors resulting from any lack of availability for any reason. MMI reserves the right to close, suspend, or limit your access to eSOPH if in our sole discretion.

  1. Acceptable Use

You agree to only use eSOPH as permitted by these Terms of Use, including without limitation:

  • You may upload content, information and materials about yourself to eSOPH, as requested by MMI Clients, and you agree that MMI Client(s) may access, download, and review such materials, as stated in these Terms of Use and the MMI Privacy Statement. You may not upload or enter any information into eSOPH that has not been requested by the MMI Client.
  • You may not upload or transmit any content or information of any type that infringes or violates any rights of any party, including intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights.
  • You consent to allow MMI Clients, such as public safety agencies and other organizations working on their behalf, to access the content, information and materials you enter or upload into eSOPH, but, as an Applicant, you may not access or attempt to access the content, information or materials of any other individual on eSOPH.
  • You may not attempt to “hack”, reverse engineer, disassemble, reverse translate, decompile or decode any portion of eSOPH.
  • You may not rent, retransmit, disclose, publish, sell, assign, lease, sublicense, market, or transfer eSOPH or the Contents.
  • You are prohibited from accessing or attempting to access any MMI data, MMI Client data, or data of any third party without express authorization. Unauthorized use of such data may subject you to civil and criminal penalties, as well as potential monetary damages.
  • You must follow all applicable laws and regulations that may apply to your use of eSOPH and your upload of content, information, and materials for access by MMI and our Clients.

Additionally, you are strictly prohibited from using eSOPH: (a) to solicit others to perform or participate in any unlawful acts; (b) to infringe upon or violate the intellectual property rights of any party; (c) to harass, abuse, insult, harm, defame, slander, disparage, intimidate, or discriminate; (d) to submit false or misleading information; (e) to upload or transmit viruses or any other type of malicious or destructive code; (f) for any obscene or immoral purpose; or (g) to interfere with or circumvent the security features of eSOPH or any related product.

  1. Legal Compliance; Void Where Prohibited

eSOPH is administered and operated from MMI’s location in the United States. If you choose to access eSOPH from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and you are solely responsible for complying with applicable local laws. eSOPH and its use is void where prohibited. Without limiting the foregoing, when using eSOPH, you agree to comply with all applicable U.S. laws and state/local laws of the respective MMI Client, including, but not limited to export controls and applicable laws of the U.S. and the state/local laws of the respective MMI Client governing privacy and data security.

  1. Term and Termination

These Terms shall remain in full force and effect as long as you use eSOPH. Termination of these Terms is effective when you discontinue all use of eSOPH, except that terms related to retention of Applicant Data and Basic Applicant Data shall continue so long as your Applicant Data and/or Basic Applicant Data resides in the eSOPH system. MMI reserves the right to terminate these Terms at any time at our sole discretion. On termination, you lose the right to access or use eSOPH. Sections 2, 5, 6, 10, 12 through 16 and 19 of these Terms shall survive termination.

  1. Disclaimer of Warranties

EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED HEREIN, eSOPH IS PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND MMI DISCLAIMS, AND THESE TERMS EXPRESSLY EXCLUDE, ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, ORAL OR WRITTEN, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY (A) OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSES, (B) THAT eSOPH IS ERROR-FREE, FAULT-TOLERANT, OR FAIL-SAFE, WILL OPERATE WITHOUT INTERRUPTION, ARE COMPATIBLE WITH ALL EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE CONFIGURATIONS, OR THAT ALL NON-CONFORMITIES CAN OR WILL BE CORRECTED, (C) OF NONINTERFERENCE, SYSTEM INTEGRATION, OR NONINFRINGEMENT OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS. MMI MAKES NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH REGARD TO ANY THIRD-PARTY PRODUCTS, THIRD PARTY CONTENT OR ANY SOFTWARE, EQUIPMENT, OR HARDWARE OBTAINED FROM THIRD PARTIES. YOU AGREE THAT ITS USE OF eSOPH IS AT YOUR SOLE DISCRETION AND RISK. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, MMI DOES NOT WARRANT THAT eSOPH SHALL BE ERROR-FREE, UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR VIRUS-FREE. MMI does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any data submitted to or output from eSOPH. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. MMI disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such information by you or others.

  1. Limitation of Liability

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT IN NO EVENT SHALL MMI, OUR EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS (THE “DISCLAIMING ENTITIES”) BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, USE, DATA OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES WHICH MAY BE INCURRED IN CONNECTION WITH eSOPH, REGARDLESS OF THE TYPE OF CLAIM OR THE NATURE OF THE CAUSE OF ACTION, EVEN IF THE DISCLAIMING ENTITY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE OR LOSS. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES, IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, OUR LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

  1. Indemnification

YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND AND HOLD HARMLESS MMI AND THE DISCLAIMING ENTITIES FROM ALL CLAIMS, LOSSES, DAMAGES, PENALTIES, LIABILITY AND COSTS, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEYS’ FEES, OF ANY KIND OR NATURE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO A CLAIM (A) YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES IN VIOLATION OF THESE TERMS; (B) OUR PROVISION OF eSOPH TO YOU; (C) YOUR APPLICANT DATA; (D) YOUR BREACH OR ALLEGED BREACH OF ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES MADE BY YOU HEREUNDER OR YOUR VIOLATION OF ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THESE TERMS; OR (E) YOUR VIOLATION OF ANY LAW OR THE RIGHTS OF A THIRD PARTY.

  1. General Terms

You may not assign, transfer, or sublicense your rights under these Terms of Use or delegate or subcontract your obligations. Any assignment, transfer, delegation, or sublicensing prohibited by these Terms of Use shall be void.

These Terms constitute the entire understanding and agreement of the Parties with respect to its subject matter. In the event a conflict arises between these Terms of Use and any agreements you may enter into with an MMI Client regarding your use of eSOPH, these Terms of Use will govern.

Failure by MMI to enforce any rights granted herein shall not be deemed a waiver as to subsequent enforcement of such rights. If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, it shall be modified in such manner as to be valid, legal and enforceable but so as to most nearly retain the intent of this Agreement. If such modification is not possible, the provision shall be severed from these Terms of Use. In either case the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use shall not in any way be affected or impaired.

MMI shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform under these Terms of Use if such delay or failure is caused by, or prohibited by conditions of force majeure, including strikes, labor disputes, fire, breakdowns of land, sea or air transportation, vehicular accident, acts or restraints of any government agency, or any such events which are beyond our reasonable control.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, in the United States, without regard to conflict of laws provisions. The United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods and the United Nations Convention on the Formation of Contracts for the International Sales of Goods shall not be applied to these Terms of Use. The forum for any dispute arising under or relating to these Terms of Use shall be the state and federal courts of King County, Washington, United States and both parties submit to the jurisdiction and venue of such courts.

  1. Dispute Resolution

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING SECTION CAREFULLY BECAUSE IT CONTAINS A CLASS ACTION WAIVER, REQUIRES YOU TO ARBITRATE CERTAIN DISPUTES, AND CLAIMS AND LIMITS THE MANNER IN WHICH YOU CAN SEEK RELIEF FROM MMI. You agree that any dispute, controversy or claim between you and MMI arising out of or relating to: (a) these Terms, or a breach thereof; (b) our provision of eSOPH services to you; (c) your access to or use of eSOPH; or (d) any alleged violation of any federal, state, or local law, statute, or ordinance (each such dispute, controversy or claim, a “Dispute”) will be governed by the arbitration procedure outlined below.

We want to solve any problems and address your concerns without the necessity of a formal legal case. Before filing a claim against MMI, you agree to try to resolve the Dispute informally by contacting MMI. MMI will make a good faith effort to resolve the Dispute informally. If a Dispute is not resolved within 30 days after you contact us, you or we may bring a formal proceeding.

You and MMI each agree to resolve any Disputes through final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes. The arbitration will be held in King County, Washington, or any other location if mutually agreed by You and MMI. Neither party may bring a claim, including a claim for injunctive relief to stop unauthorized use or abuse of eSOPH or infringement of intellectual property rights (for example, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or patent rights), without first engaging in arbitration or the informal dispute resolution process described above.

You may only resolve Disputes with MMI on an individual basis and may not bring a claim as a plaintiff or a class member in a class, consolidated, or representative action. Class arbitrations, class actions, and consolidation with other arbitrations are not allowed under these Terms.

If any dispute arises between the Parties with respect to the matters covered by these Terms which leads to a proceeding to resolve such dispute, the prevailing party in such proceeding shall be entitled to receive its reasonable attorneys’ fees, expert witness fees and out-of-pocket costs incurred in connection with such proceeding, in addition to any other relief it may be awarded. Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to your use of eSOPH must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose, or else that claim or cause of action will be barred forever.

  1. Copyright Policy; DMCA

MMI respects the intellectual property rights of others and expect users of eSOPH to do the same. We will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with applicable law and are properly provided to our designated copyright agent. Our designated copyright agent to receive notifications of claimed infringement is:

Miller Mendel, Inc.
c/o Rylander & Associates
406 W 12th St
Vancouver, WA 98660
(360) 750-9931

If you are a copyright owner or an agent thereof and believe that any Content infringes upon your copyrights, you may submit a notification pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”) by providing our copyright agent with the following information in writing (see 17 U.S.C 512(c)(3) for further detail):

  • A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
  • Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
  • Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed, or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
  • Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact you, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail;
  • A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
  • A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  1. Amendments

MMI reserves the right to amend these Terms of Use at any time. If we revise these Terms, we will update this posting and change the Last Updated date. Your continued use of eSOPH following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes.

  1. Electronic Communications

You consent to receive communications from us electronically. We may communicate with you by email or by posting links to notices on eSOPH login page. You should bookmark or save the web address to the login page for any future reference. You agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. Such communications you receive from us are confidential and you agree not to disclose, directly or indirectly the content or subject matter of such communication, including sharing (or posting) links to the communication(s) with any third party.

  1. Contact
    Please direct all questions related to your application to the MMI Client to which you are applying. If you have any questions about MMI or eSOPH, please contact:

Miller Mendel, Inc.
Phone: (206) 330-2094
Email: info@millermendel.com