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Using pre-employment background checks

Using pre-employment background checks

By: VentureHow Staff Writer

Updated on: May 19, 2021

Using pre-employment background checks are common during the process of seeking a job with a small business. However, there are ethical problems and legal limits to using pre-employment background checks.

There are all sorts of challenges that arise after a pre-employment background check turns up job candidate data. Obtaining necessary information about a prospective employee’s background is only half the battle. The other half is figuring out how this information should be used. Just some of the uncovered data will be relevant to the actual hiring decision. It is also possible that the candidate disagrees with the findings. Or, maybe he/she threatens to sue the small business for refusing to hire him due to information uncovered during the pre-employment background check. Let’s take a look at how small business owners and managers should use the information gleaned from such investigations.

Discrepancies

If you allied with a full-service pre-employment background check provider that obtained the candidate’s consent to perform the check and complied with the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (FCRA) standards, you should not hesitate to put your faith in the accuracy of the information.

If a job candidate vehemently disagrees with the information gleaned from a pre-employment background check, you will find yourself in a bit of a predicament. If you allied with a full-service pre-employment background check provider that obtained the candidate’s consent to perform the check and complied with the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (FCRA) standards, you should not hesitate to put your faith in the accuracy of the information. However, if the candidate threatens to sue because the information you uncovered was false, it is time to consult with your attorney. You might be tempted to request that the candidate take a lie detector test to provide proof of his candidness. However, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act bars the majority of private employers from subjecting job candidates to a lie detector test. The only exceptions are for businesses that provide security services such as personal protection, alarm services, and armored car services. Companies that produce, distribute and/or dispense pharmaceuticals might also be exempt from this law.

Take a Look at the Bigger Picture

If you uncover some negative information about a candidate such as poor credit history or employment dates that differ from those listed on his resume, don’t automatically rule him out of consideration. The unfortunate truth is that a surprising number of pre-employment background check reports have inaccuracies. Take a look at all of the data provided. If there are only a few red flags, give the candidate a chance to explain his/her side of the story. If the background check was conducted through a DIY style website and the candidate strongly disagrees with the results, consider running a second pre-employment background check through a full-service provider. The data generated through a second check might substantively differ from that obtained through the initial query.

The bottom line is that a narrow focus on one negative piece of data in background check results might prevent you from hiring the best possible candidate. Furthermore, the failure to look for patterns in background check results is also a mistake. Look for positive and negative trends when evaluating a candidate. If you spot a single negative or positive in the background check results, don’t let it shape your perception of the candidate’s merit. Look for general trends that are indicative of future behavior.

Be Consistent

Treat all prospective hires in the same manner. Do not make the mistake of relying on different pre-employment background check providers to obtain data about candidates who are competing for the same job. Though different types of jobs might require nuanced levels of investigation, background check processes should generally be consistent to prevent charges of discrimination.

Using pre-employment background checks: Right Situations

Using pre-employment background checks

Imagine a scenario in which you run a background check on four prospective employees. You receive the results and find a slew of negative information in three of the four reports. You hire the candidate who has the “cleanest” background check. A few days later, you realize that you forgot to run a pre-employment background check on two other candidates who made it to the final round of interviews. This is a grave error as it is illegal to check the background of job applicants when the decision is based on factors like race, religion, sex, national origin, disability and/or age (40 or older). Though you did not intentionally exclude the forgotten two candidates from the background check process due to their race or other demographic factors, their exclusion could be construed as a violation of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) laws. If one of the shunned candidates sues you for discrimination and it is proven that you relied upon data gleaned from pre-employment background checks when making the hire but failed to conduct such an examination on the plaintiff, your business could suffer a massive financial setback in the form of a court-ordered payout. Alternatively, if it can be proven that you conducted a pre-employment background check on an employee due to one of the above referenced demographic factors, you will have broken EEOC law. In a nutshell, it is imperative that you treat all job candidates equally in the context of pre-employment background checks.

Using pre-employment background checks: Tread Carefully When Making the Hiring Decision

If you base an employment decision on negatives uncovered in a pre-employment background check, do so with great care. Specific background problems that are more common amongst a particular race, sex, disability group or age cohort should not always preclude those candidates from being offered the job. As an example, if you exclude a candidate from consideration for a position due to the discovery of a criminal record, it might be construed as racism if the policy disadvantages those of a particular race or other protected characteristic. The logic behind such a statement is that a criminal record might not necessarily preclude a candidate from performing the job to the required standards.

Disclaimer: VentureHow.com Using pre-employment background checks is an informational article. While we strive to provide quality information, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data. Please consult an attorney for what is right for your business in using the data from pre-employment background checks.

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