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Employment Screening
Critical Guidelines You Need to Know Before
Hiring Anyone
We don’t like to think about people doing harm to
ourselves or others. The reality, however, is that
we live in a country with one of the highest rates
of financial crimes, including embezzlement, fraud,
theft, etc. And, that’s just the beginning.
Let’s look at just a few statistics on what the
FBI reports is the fastest growing crime in the
U.S. - employee theft:
• U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that $50 billion
dollars are lost annually due to employee theft
and fraud and that 20% of all businesses fail due
to the same reason.
• According to an Ernst & Young Report, "White Collar
Crime: Loss Prevention through Internal Control",
companies lose 1% to 2% of their sales to crime
-- most committed by, or in collusion with, employees.
Employee theft, negligent hiring, sexual harassment,
and workers’ compensation fraud are just a few of
the liabilities an employer has to face in today’s
hiring environment.
Some incidents can be horrifying as in the case
of an Arizona Fitness Club which hired
an unscreened applicant who later raped and murdered
a female patron while she lounged in the sauna.
Is it any wonder that employment screening has become
mandatory?
Not only do you want to avoid hiring criminals,
don’t you want to hire the right candidate who is
most qualified for the job? All of this information
can be ascertained through a proper background check
from a company that knows what they are doing, and/or
which can supplement an already existent screening
program.
Critical tips when choosing an employment
screening company
When choosing an employment screening firm, look
for longevity first with a track record that can
be verified with numerous references from clients.
Also look for professional memberships in organizations
such as ASIS, SHRM, PIHRA, NPRRA, NAPBS, to name
just a few.
Do you have a complete knowledge of employment law?
If not, your screener should know the laws involving
the background screening process. It helps, if the
firm you hire has an acute knowledge of “negligent
hiring,” much in the way that an Expert Witness
might know, since it will be the expert witness
who exposes the shortcomings of any hiring loophole
which created the environment for the negligently
hired employee to have come aboard in the first
place! Intimate, thorough and long-term knowledge
of the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act (FACTA), and the Fair Credit Reporting
Act (FCRA) is necessary, as well as the ability
to testify for you in a court of law if need be
– or even better, <>you out of court Does the prospective
screener have knowledge and understanding of current
HR Management systems? How about corporate Due Diligence
programs or Factual Employment Screening
programs that train people to find fraudulent applications
and false identities? In short, can your vendor
help keep you from unwanted litigation? Unless you
or someone in your company is an expert in employment
law, you are putting your company at significant
risk. If you are using any of the multitudes of
online databases that have become available recently,
it’s not likely you are protected.
Not only do these companies decrease your risk of
exposure, they may even add to it. For example,
let’s say you are currently using an employment
screener who does not require you to provide a signed
release for each applicant. Sounds relatively
harmless, doesn't it?
The truth is these companies have had you waive
liability to them when you signed up for an account
so they can avoid the time and effort it takes involved
in this critical step. In the case of an audit,
your company is responsible for producing a signed
application and therefore liable if you don’t have
one on file. A good employment screener provides
signatures for these audits and you’ll never even
know when they occur. A typical lawsuit of this
nature could cost your company six figures. Can
you think of any good reason to take this kind of
risk?
Read more about
Pre
Employment Screening
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