YES!! In today’s tough economic times many companies, especially small ones, have eliminated some fundamental job applicant requirements, such as drug testing or checking someone’s history.
In today’s climate, employers should be even more cautious who they hire, particularly in high risk positions, such as individuals in the teaching or day care profession. Things such as the Enron scandal, September 11th and other corporate scandals have caused a heightened awareness of falsifying information and put higher scrutiny on company officials.
Many federal and state laws now require employers to run employee background checks on potential canidates. It will depend on what your particular company does and what those employees are being hired to do. Even if your business ventures are not high risk, resume fraud is on the rise, you do not want to hire an employee that costs your business profits in the long run.
Reporting on a potential hire can include an extensive amount of information or can be as simple as verifying education and social security numbers. Often these reports include: driving records, credit history, court records, bankruptcies, medical history, military records, past employer information and criminal history. The computer and information technology age has increased what we can find out about other individuals. It is up to you how extensive you want your search information to be. Each state law outlines what can be searched on an individual’s history. You can also check the Fair Credit Reporting Act for additional guideline information.
Why is all this information important to an employer? Often an employer can be held accountable for criminal acts or acts of negligence committed by an employee. This is especially true if the employee will be working with the public, elderly, children or entering people’s homes. Conduct employee background checks….it can save your profit margin!
Contact us at employee background checks for more information or call: 1.770.426.0547
