Using Credit Background Checks for Employment Purposes

February 2, 2011 by

Using Credit Background Checks for Employment Purposes

Employers using a credit check as part of background checks for new employees should be made aware of potential developments in Washington over its use.

There has been much scrutiny by the EEOC over the use of credit reports being used in making hiring decisions by employers.  Employers can expect to see closer attention paid to the question of “disparate impact” that cause certain groups to be excluded from employment because of the information contained in the report.

Most employers use the information in credit background checks as part of the overall pre employment screening process, and never rely solely on the credit history, although the EEOC does not seem convinced of that.

To ensure compliance, the following non-legal advice is offered regarding the use of credit reports for employment purposes:

· Review employment applications to be certain information requested is compliant
· Review background screening policies for your business for fairness
· Review positions requiring credit background checks and narrow if necessary
· Request a credit report only after a conditional offer of employment is made
· Discuss concerns with the applicant beforehand
· Ensure compliance with all state regulations, which may be more restrictive than those regulated by the FCRA

The Equal Opportunity for All Act, which severely restricts the use of credit reports in pre employment background checks, has been reintroduced in the new Congress as HB 321.

All information contained in this blog is informational/opinion only and should not be construed as legal advice.  If you need legal advice, consult a qualified attorney.

For information on background checks, call 770-426-0547 or click here: Pre Employment Screening

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The Criminal Background Check and Hiring Decisions

January 28, 2011 by

The Criminal Background Check and Hiring Decisions

If your company is like most others, there is some type of criminal background check done on all applicants for employment or newly hired people.  What employers do once the arrest and/or conviction information is received on a candidate can be very different.

Some companies have very strict guidelines on hiring parameters, excluding candidates who have any criminal history at all, while others are willing to take a chance on hiring someone with a record based on a number of factors such as age at the time of the offense, seriousness of the crime, or time since the crime was committed.  Still other companies use the criminal background check only as part of a comprehensive pre employment screening program and consider many other variables, like education, employment record, or personal references as mitigating factors for someone with a criminal history.

To be fair across the board, a company should define requirements and qualifications for each position in the company.  These do not necessarily have to be the same for each position.  A company might reject an applicant for an accounting position who has a record for embezzlement, but hire a driver who has written bad checks.  Categories of the crime for which the candidate was convicted may be a factor as well.  Felons might be excluded while misdemeanor convictions are accepted, or an applicant might be disqualified for a conviction of a crime of violence, like assault or battery.

The important thing to remember is that the qualifications should be written down as policy, and applied fairly and consistently across the board.  A labor attorney or background check experts can help with this.

An employer has the right to conduct a criminal background check on employees and new hires within certain bounds, and can use this decision tool effectively.

For more information on the criminal background check, call 770-426-0547 or click here:  Background Check Experts

 

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But I DO a Background Checks!

January 21, 2011 by

But I DO a Background Checks!

And my employee stole from me anyway!  What good are the background checks?

A recently burned employer might well ask this question.  Despite doing everything right, despite pre employment screening that included background checks, would an employee with no previous history of trouble with the law suddenly turn into workplace thief?

Just because a background check is conducted and comes back clean, does not absolutely mean that the applicant has never stolen. The check may not have been broad enough, not checking in every location where the applicant lived, worked, or attended school.  He may have a record that he acquired as a juvenile, which is sealed, or an adult record that has been expunged.

Or he may have been caught stealing and never prosecuted, meaning a public record of his misdeeds was never produced.

So a clean criminal background checks do not necessarily indicate the absence of criminal behavior, only that it wasn’t found or has never been documented.

Does this mean that background checks should not be done?  Absolutely not!  An employer should exercise his right to legally uncover any fact that has the potential to harm his business.  And positive results may exclude a potential thief from your business.

Does revealing a spotty history such as a criminal record mean an employer shouldn’t hire someone?  Not necessarily.  Various factors go into this decision, including age at the time of the offense, length of time since the offense, and applicability to the job to be performed.

But consider this:  Jails and prisons are full of offenders who have had multiple opportunities to “go straight.”  By the time a person is sentenced to serve time in a jail or prison, they have probably been on probation several times and continued their behavior until the court decided that incarceration was the only answer to protect the public.

As a business owner, remember that you have to keep protecting your livelihood by keeping your eyes open to the potential that some of your employees may steal from you, even if they have clear background checks.

Want to know more?  Call the background check expert at 770-426-0547 or click here.

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Identity Theft and the Criminal Background Check

January 19, 2011 by

Identity Theft and the Criminal Background Check

What would you do if you needed a job, but thought that a criminal background check might turn up negative information on you, like the credit cards you stole and used, or the four shoplifting arrests you’ve had?

An idea used by some people to get by this minor inconvenience is to assume someone else’s identity.  Then, unless your potential employer submitted your fingerprints to a background check expert, no record, at least for you, would show up in a criminal background check.

Admittedly, many companies go beyond the basic criminal background check as part of their pre employment screening process, but others don’t.  Using another’s identity is fairly commonplace among illegal immigrants who can’t legally work in the US without a valid social security number, but is also used by legal residents that have something to hide, or are fugitives from justice.  Those with a past to conceal often use the identification of a friend, relative, or acquaintance that they are able to get the identification from and use it until they either quit or are found out.

There is also the possibility that the person whose identification is being used has a criminal history, but that is a whole new problem, both for the employer and the applicant.

There are other steps to take to validate identity.  Be very careful when examining identification documents such as a driver’s license or social security card.  Both of these can be easily faked.  Compare suspected documents against those that you know are genuine and note any differences, be sure lamination is correctly sealed and hasn’t been tampered with, and that the physical description and photo matches the applicant.

A criminal background check on a person with phony identification is worse that no background check at all, because it has been paid for, and the results are worthless.  Extra effort to determine true identity is sometimes worth it.

Questions? Call 770-426-0547 or click here.

 

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Where Do You Get Your Applicant Background Information

January 17, 2011 by

Where Do You Get Your Applicant Background Information

A background check expert will deliver customized results to your fax or inbox.  Most employers – small, medium, and large – will conduct some sort of pre employment screening on its potential employees.  The question they should ask themselves is, “What is the value of my background checks?”

The employer that depends on a Google name search and a glance at Facebook will save a small amount of money, but the results will be far from useful, causing some good applicants to be rejected and giving a false sense of security in others.  Most background check experts consider these methods to be worse than worthless, since they deliver unsatisfactory information and are in no way compliant with current laws.

The one size fits all background check really doesn’t fit at all.  By that I mean the quick and easy background check that is available on line and paid for by credit card.  Common sense will tell you that if you key in a name like “John Smith”, your results are not going to be reliable.  The information provider will leave it up to the requestor to discern what is or isn’t accurate.  And there is no way that the commercial database can hold information that is anywhere near real-time.  An out-of-date information can mean trouble for a potential employer.

A background check expert can help your business design a pre employment screening program that is personalized to be economical and useful.  Don’t pay for information you don’t need and don’t miss information that you do need to make the very best hiring decision and protect the company from a potential problem employee.

To speak with a background check expert for advice on your pre employment screening program, call 770-426-0547 or click:  background check expert.

 

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Why Do Companies Conduct Background Checks?

January 10, 2011 by

Why Do Companies Conduct Background Checks?

It’s now a given that most companies conduct background checks of some type on their prospective employees.  But what motivates them to budget for this portion of their pre employment screening program, beyond interviews and a basic application review?

For some, it is a policy requirement because management determined that in order to acquire the type of employee that fit their expectations, further checking into the applicant past was necessary.  Some do it because “everybody else” is doing it, and have made the decision that conducting background checks would be beneficial for their company as well.  And some do it because they were previously burned by a (former) employee who hurt the business by improper actions like theft, attendance, poor performance, or one of many other reasons that could have been reasonably anticipated through the application of a check conducted by a reputable background check company.

The latter case, being harmed by an employee, is by far the most painful to the company.  In many instances a poor choice of employees could and should have been prevented by including background checks in the hiring process.   It is a case of reacting to a problem rather than taking a proactive position to prevent the problem in the first place.

Which sounds like the better business decision?

Employee background checks are an affordable and simple insurance policy to reduce the risk of harm to a company by making a bad hire.

Explore your options in background checks by calling 770-426-0547 or click here for further information.

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HR Uses Background Checks – Atlanta Georgia

January 7, 2011 by

HR Uses Background Checks – Atlanta Georgia

HR managers who use a background check company as part of their overall hiring policy to eliminate undesirable applicants are well versed in the application of the information that can and can’t be used when taking adverse action – that is not hiring the individual base on information contained in a background check.

Any negative information revealed, whether it is a criminal history, poor credit, or something else, should be directly related to the individual’s ability to do the job.  In other words, poor credit shouldn’t preclude hiring a person who doesn’t handle cash or who is closely supervised.  A minor criminal history shouldn’t eliminate a candidate depending on the severity of the offense, the age of the person involved, and the length of time since the offense occurred.

There is leeway in the decision making process, but as most HR professionals will tell you, all policies, including pre employment screening must be fairly and consistently applied for the position.

Conversely, there are situations where the presence of derogatory information absolutely should prevent an applicant from holding a particular position.  A day care worker shouldn’t be a registered sex offender, a home health nurse shouldn’t have a criminal conviction for violence of any sort, and a cashier should be free of any convictions of credit card fraud, obviously.

The HR department should set the breadth and scope of the background check to be conducted for each position and be sure all guidelines are followed.

The HR department should be able to depend on the background check company as a business partner, getting solid advice and guidance about their background check policies.

To discuss your background check requirements, call 770-426-0547 (770-253-4593 in Atlanta, Georgia) or click here.

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Quality Pre Employment Screening Means Quality Employees

December 27, 2010 by

Quality Pre Employment Screening Means Quality Employees

Every business wants the very best employees available to fill open positions, a result that is helped along by a quality pre employment screening program.  A quality program is designed both to reduce risk to the employer by eliminating unsuitable candidates as well as help in making decisions among two or more suitable applicants.

Each company has its own “system” of pre employment screening, whether it’s a written developed policy or the result of trial and error over time.

Typically, there are many more applicants than there are positions to fill, resulting in a broad range of applicants, from those who are under qualified and stretching their accomplishments and abilities to the over qualified who may be taking the position until something better comes along.

The pre employment screening policies used by hiring companies is designed to streamline the process of making the best decision.

The depth of the process should be job specific.  Positions with higher responsibility should face higher scrutiny, since a hiring mistake can typically be more costly.  The elements of the program can be done incrementally as well, depending on the job.  In hiring a driver, for instance the employer might opt to check the driving record of a candidate, then based on those results, either eliminate the candidate, or conduct a criminal background check on those that successfully pass the driving record hurdle.  Other searches like credit reports, references, employment checks, and education verification can be added if needed or omitted.  Although this method may reduce costs somewhat, it will also tend to drag out the time it takes to get a complete snapshot of the applicant.

The final result of pre employment screening, including interviewing, drug testing, and those items mentioned above all are directed at securing the most qualified quality candidate to help the company prosper.

To have your pre employment questions answered, call 770-426-0547 or click here.

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What Should Be Included in Your Background Checks

December 13, 2010 by

At this point we should all be aware of just how important employee background checks are to your company, its’ security and your bottom line. However, what you may not know is just how extensive your employee background checks need to be. After all, your employees aren’t handling nuclear launch codes or perfecting your patented cure for cancer, right? Right, but they are holding one of your most prized possessions in the palms of their hands; your money. Therefore it behooves you to make extra sure that they can be trusted with it.

Employee background checks are the process of looking up and compiling criminal records, commercial records and financial records. They most typically include past employment verification, credit score and criminal history. The first, past employment verification, is pretty self-explanatory. You want to be able to verify that the person has the necessary experience to do the job you’re hiring them to do. The second, credit score, is often debated. Why is it necessary to check a potential employee’s credit score? Well, in the timeless words of Forest Gump’s mama: “Stupid is as stupid does.” If an individual is irresponsible or unable to diligently control their own finances do you really want them working with yours?

The third, and possibly most important, thing that should be included in your employee background checks is a criminal history. Nobody wants to work next to the next Jeffrey Dahmer or Bernie Madoff and you certainly don’t want to be responsible for their actions. True, lack of a criminal history is no guarantee that an individual won’t indulge in criminal behavior in the future, however past criminal activity can be a good indication of things to come. Employee background checks can be as extensive as you feel necessary for the position being sought, but they should at the very least include the 3 steps mentioned above.

For more information on pre employment screening or background check company contact us at background checks or call 1.770.426.0547

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Home Service Workers Get Background Checks

December 2, 2010 by

Home Service Workers Get Background Checks

Customers who receive in home visits from employees of service companies don’t expect to be victimized by those employees.  They would expect the employees would have been subjected to some scrutiny, including background checks, before being sent to and allowed to enter a customer’s home.  The fact is that this is often not the case.

Service companies include electrical contractors, pest control, plumbers, appliance repairmen, heating and air conditioning repairmen, cleaners, you name it.

Most companies will publicize the fact that their employees are banded and insured, but that does not necessarily mean that their employee have been the subjects of a pre employment background checks.

Many times the company hired by the homeowner will subcontract another company to perform the work and don’t really know if pre employment screening has been thoroughly conducted or not.

In addition to theft issues, which occur frequently, there are instances of harm coming to the homeowner or tenant at the hands of the employee.

In 2001, for instance a homeowner paid a nationally known company to clean the air ducts in her house.  Six months later, the serviceman returned to the home, raped and murdered the homeowner, and set fire to the house to cover evidence of his crime.  The murderer was a registered sex offender and on parole at the time of his first visit to the home.

An employee of a plumbing company and his customer had a disagreement over the cost of the repair and the plumber assaulted the customer.  The plumber had previously been arrested for battery, something the employer should have known.  A negligent hiring lawsuit was soon filed.

Pre employment screening and background checks are an affirmative defense against negligent hiring lawsuits.

Businesses that conduct pre employment background checks instill confidence in their customers by demonstrating care in the selection of their employees.

For further information on pre employment screening and background checks, call 770-426-0547 or click here.

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