Employment - Re-evaluating Hiring Practices

Recent trends have greatly affected the process in which employers go about hiring new employees. News stories of work place violence, sexual harassment, theft, and resume fraud flood our nation's airwaves, thus leaving employers with no other choice but to re-evaluate their hiring practices.

For many business owners it is too costly to hire a full time employee to pre-screen applicants. In many cases, business owners don't want to get tied up in the legalities of applicant screening, and skip the whole process all together. This is when employers may come face to face with one of the above mentioned situations.

What's the answer? Well, one cost effective solution is to outsource the pre-employment screening program. Pre-employment search companies provide businesses with non-biased information on criminal history, driving records, education and credit history which may determine if the candidate is suitable for your business. Here are some general guidelines when choosing a pre-employment screening agency.

The most important rule of thumb when choosing a background screening provider is to make absolutely certain the agency is FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) compliant.

The FCRA requires that employers follow the act when obtaining any information about the applicant, this includes credit, as well as any personal searches; criminal checks, previous employer, license verification and other information. Business owners are responsible for whom they delegate their screening duties too and any violations against the act can result in criminal charges as well as fines of $2,500 per violation.

More information about the Fair Credit Reporting Act can be found on the Federal Trade Commission web site at www.ftc.gov.

To comply, your company should provide a clear and written disclosure to the applicant informing them of your intentions to obtain information and the information is solely for employment related purposes. The disclosure must be signed by the applicant before pursuing any consumer information.

This information must also be verified with the reporting agency stating that information will not be used in violation of any state or federal employment laws or regulations.

When an applicant's report is returned, don't jump to conclusions. Each applicant case needs to be reviewed objectively with the crime committed and the position applied for in mind. Remember, the President of the United States has a DUI.

On the flip side, when denying employment based on information obtained, allow the applicant the opportunity to explain the reasons for poor credit or tarnished history.

Last, you should require the agency performing your background checks to confirm an understanding and compliance with all legal requirements. This may come thru written correspondence from the company you choose.

Utilizing a pre-employment screening company can help your organization avoid the headaches, improve productivity and help your company hire with confidence.

David Sims is owner of Simple Screening, Inc., an employment screening firm. For more information on this topic, you may contact him at 866-535-6767, dsims@simplescreening.com or www.simplescreening.com.