Criminal background
checks: when & why ?
Criminal Search and the Employer’s expectations
Companies of every size, in every industry, in every state, share a common
goal: to employ a quality workforce. And, although human resources
departments have different ways of accomplishing this crucial goal, they use
similar strategies. One strategy is to conduct criminal record checks on
applicants prior to making an offer of employment.
When is a Criminal Check advisable?
In many cases, it is easy to see why a criminal check is advisable. A
bank hires individuals who handle cash and other monetary transactions.
Clearly, an individual cannot have a criminal past that includes
convictions for theft, burglary, or embezzlement. The carpet
installation company or pest control company sends individuals into
people’s homes. Having a worker with a past history of assault could be
a very costly mistake for a company that sends workers out to work with
clients. The health care industry has a “higher duty of care,” and must
be very careful in screening applicants. But what about the maintenance
staff? The worker on the assembly line? The server in a restaurant? Is
it really necessary to conduct a criminal check on everyone?
Employers conduct criminal record searches because their goal is to
protect company assets. In a broad sense, company assets include not
only inventory and equipment, but also customers, and staff. Does your
maintenance staff have keys to your offices? Do your food servers
interact with your customers? Are assembly workers expected to work
cooperatively with fellow employees? What if the individual you hired
had a sexual assault conviction in his past? When considering customers
and staff, employers might want to know if their workers have
convictions for crimes of a violent nature.
Your company’s written policy with respect to
background checks
“If I screened out everyone with a criminal past, half my workers would be
gone.”
You may be surprised to know that employers occasionally make comments like
this. However, there are situations where this is the case. Companies hire
individuals with criminal pasts as part of a rehabilitation program, for
example. These workers have paid their debt to society; and the employer is
offering a second chance. Are these employers mistaken? Is it fair to apply
the same standards to all positions within a company? The answer to these
questions is simply this: When it comes to hiring, each employer is unique.
So, after assessing the situation, and considering the benefits and risks,
an employer is better able to institute policies with respect to background
checks for employment purposes.
A consistent policy protects the employer
The higher the position, the more employers want to know about the person’s
past prior to extending an offer of employment. A typical policy for hiring
a member of the executive team might include conducting a range of
background checks, such as: criminal record search, employment verification,
education verification, Social Security check, interviews with business
references, and a civil court record search. The same company, when hiring
drivers, might choose to perform a criminal record search, employment
verification and driver’s license check.
The key is relevancy and consistency. So, once an employer determines what
types of background checks are relevant for different categories of workers,
it is important to conduct the same checks for all candidates who apply for
positions within those categories. Where employers make mistakes is in
background checking people with whom they are not familiar, while foregoing
a background check for someone they know. Relevancy…consistency…and a
written policy will protect employers from future litigation, while helping
to ensure a higher quality workforce.
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