Background Checks - Explained

Background and Pre-Employment Screening

Updated at April 6th, 2023

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What is Background Screening or Pre-Employment Screening?

Pre-employment screening refers to the process of using background checks, psychometric testing, and drug testing to identify and determine the basis for recruiting a new employee. This method is mostly used in situations where the employer seeks to acquire new employee in the organization. More than 96% of human resource managers state that their organizations carry out background checks whenever they want to hire new employees. According to the Workplace, Violence Survey by The Society for Human Resource Management revealed that these figures had increased considerably from 66% in 1996.

Back To: HUMAN RESOURCES, EMPLOYMENT, & LABOR

How to Use a Background Check?

Before the human resource manager delves into exclusive background check of the individuals they intend to recruit in the company, they need to consider the legal implications that can affect their business if they apply this method. Examining the background of a potential employee helps in maximizing the risks that might occur due to negligent hiring lawsuit. This may make the hirer, and the company held responsible for the actions and behaviors of new employee especially when the hirer employs an individual without carrying out a background check. Before carrying out the background check, it is important for the hirer to conform with the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the American With Disabilities Act.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)

The FCRA provides that, small business should have their workers sign a disclosure form the authority to carry out background test. The FCRA does not only provide restrictions to credit reports but also include consumer reports. However, the application of this law varies from one state to another based on the information to be used to carry out the pre-screening employment process. For example, the law governing a certain state may prohibit the use of a particular aspect of criminal record in the background check process. Another state may have different law such as California's Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act. Therefore, before starting the process, the employer is required to consult the local regulators and the legal counsel before exploring the criminal records of the new hire.

The American with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) describes a person with a disability as:

A person who has a mental or physical impairment that substantially affects one or more major life activities
A person who has recorded such impairment.
or a person who is regarded to have such an impairment

The ADA provides that the employers are restricted from using disability or medical data in the background check process. In other words, this act restricts the employer from asking questions about disability during the interview process. The ADA covers the organizations including local and state corporations that have 15 or more employees. The items included in the background check vary from state region to another. However, the most common checks are based on the information regarding:

credit history
academic history
social security number
personal references
driving history
criminal history
compensation of the workers.

Outsourcing Your Pre-Employment Screening

One way through which small businesses can carry out effective background checks seeking the help of the services of background checking company. Hiring services of a background checking company can help the business to find accurate and full information about the potential employee. The outsourcing partner of the business should take the business through legal requirements as well as state and federal regulations concerning background checks. On the other hand, under FCRA, small business has limited legal immunity through using the third-party background pre-employment screening company. Besides, whether the small business decides to carry out the screening on their own or employ the third party to carry out the process on their behalf, necessary precautions should be taken to ensure compliance with the law. The business can also seek the counsel of the agencies such as SCORE or the Small Business Administration (SBA). They should continuously visit the government website on FCRA and ADA to get more information about the process. Lastly, background screening should be made a standard practice for a successful operation of small businesses.

Related Topics

background check employment screening pre-employment screening preemployment check

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