Don’t Hire a Fugitive

Avoid Negligent Hiring with

Background Checks
It is no secret that conducting employee background checks is important, but actually putting this idea into
practice is a bit more overwhelming. It’s tough to know where to start when it comes to background screening
because so much is at stake and so much is connected with the law. A company owner must understand not
only what is legal when a background check is conducted, but also how to read and analyze the information
that turns up once the background check is complete.

Why Conduct a Background Check?

Many startup companies cannot help but wonder why a background check is necessary. It’s easy to simply
ignore a background check for an intern, a part-time position, or if you are hiring a friend, but this can actually
get a company in a lot of trouble. The truth is—no matter who is being considered for a position and no
matter what the position, a background check should be conducted. The biggest reason: negligent hiring.

Negligent hiring lawsuits are continuing to increase. These lawsuits occur if an employee does something that
hurts someone else; whether it is physical or verbal damage. If this occurs, an employer could be liable and
forced to pay high legal fees, and in many cases the entire company’s reputation is suddenly at stake.
Performing a background check is the easiest and safest way to make sure that a bad apple does not sneak by
and cause this damage to the company.

Making sure that you take your time to hire the right employee right away will also likely save your company
time and money in the long run. Continually having to train and retrain new employees takes time. According
to William M. Mercer, Inc., turnover costs a minimum of $10,000.

Who Can Perform a Background Check?

Background checks are typically conducted by a company that specializes in employee background checks.
There are several different choices that a company owner has when it comes to actually completing the
employee screening such as private investigators, companies that focus primarily on employee background
checks, online background check specialists, or they can be completed by the employer.

In general, employers only conduct background checks if they do very little hiring and therefore have the time
to really make sure the background check is done thoroughly. Many things that an employer would want to
know about a candidate can be found online, so this option is becoming more and more popular.

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However, companies that hire often are more likely to outsource this task. Performing a thorough background
check takes a great deal of time, and for someone who is not a professional it can be a daunting task. Below
are some of the things to consider when finding the right company to complete your potential employees’
background checks:

What to Look for In a Background Check Company:

• Accreditation – The most credible background check companies are accredited through the National
Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). If a company is accredited it means that the
company has pass an on-site audit and confirms it complies with all areas of background check standards,
protection, and practices.

• Comprehensive Coverage – Not all background checks will complete screenings for people in other
states or other countries. Make sure to check and see if the company you’re interested in working with offers
the coverage you need.

• Industry – There are certain companies that specialize in background checks for a certain industry. This
isn’t the most important aspect of finding the right screening company, but it’s something to consider if you’re
often hiring for very specialized positions.

What Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Background Check Company:

As with any candidate, you have to do your own background check on your background check company by
asking the right questions. Below are some of the things you’ll want to discuss before making your decision:

1. What information reports would you ask to see for the position for which I’m hiring?

2. How will you make sure that the reports are kept confidential?

3. How long does it take for your company to do a background screening?

4. Are you up to date on the state’s background check laws? (Make sure the company really gets into
detail for this question).

5. How will you send me the results when they are completed?

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6. Who from your company will help me if I have any questions?

Hiring the company that is the least expensive is never a good choice because background check screening is
so important and, in many ways, complicated. After all, making a wrong step during a background check could
cause your company to lose a great employee or hire a terrible one.

Background Checks and the Fair Credit Reporting Act:

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) gives information about what employees can and cannot do when
conducting a background check. Although the FCRA does not require an employer conduct a background
check, once an employer makes that decisions there are rules and regulations that must be followed. For
example, an employer must obtain the applicant’s written authorization before a background check is
completed, and this authorization should be separate from the application.

Part of the reason that the majority of background checks are completely by a third party is the FCRA. There
are many technical regulations that must be understood in order to make sure that the employer or company
giving the background check is not sued. In fact, certain states are stricter than others when it comes to
background screening, making this even more complicated. The vast majority of the FCRA regulations deal
with what you can and cannot include in a background check.

What to Include and What Not to Include in a Background Check:

There are many different levels of background screening that a company can conduct depending upon the
position, but it is extremely important that a company understands what is and what is not legal when it
comes to conducting a background check even if you are hiring a company to complete the screening for you.

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What You Can Check During a Background Check:

• Driving records

• Bankruptcy

• Military Records

• Drug Testing Records

• Sex Offender Lists

• Credit Reports

• Court Records

• State Licensing Records

• Past Employers

• Criminal Records

• Personal References

• Social Security No.

Just because you can check all of these different records legally if you wish does not necessarily mean that a
company should look into all of these records. For example, if you were hiring a pizza delivery drive, it might
make sense to check the candidates driving records. If you are hiring a marketing analyst, driving records may
not be necessary.

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What You Cannot Check During a Background Check:

• Bankruptcies after 10 years.

• Records of arrest after seven years.

• Accounts placed for collection after seven years.

• Facebook or other social networking passwords

How to Interpret Background Screening Results:

Once you have the information that you are allowed to have, it is time to consider what to do with this
information. It is of course okay to deny hiring someone if something on a background check that is related to
the job comes up negatively. After all, this is the reason that background checks are conducted in the first
place.

There are, however, a few things that you cannot do once you get your results.

• Share Information – You cannot share the information you receive with anyone other than the
candidate.

• Arrest but No Conviction – If someone was arrested but not convicted of the crime, you do not have
grounds to deny that person the position if he/she is the best suited candidate.

• Blanket Policy – According to the recent Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports,
you are not allowed to adopt a policy that says you will not hire anyone with a criminal history.

Although it may seem like a lot of work, conducting a background check is one of the most important things
you can do for your company. Simply looking through a few pictures on Facebook isn’t always going to yield
the best results, but those who are really right for the job will have nothing to hide when it comes to an
employee background check.

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