Not all companies perform employee criminal history checks when they hire employees, but more businesses are starting to do so. Much of the reason behind that is a desire to make sure the business is properly protected, but these employee criminal history checks can also help ensure the safety of other employees in some cases.
Here are three of the main reasons that a business should perform employee criminal history checks.
1). Employee criminal history checks protect your business
Most businesses prefer not to hire criminals, but the definition of “criminal” may be something other than what is in a person’s actual record. For example, a bank may not hire someone who has a theft conviction, or anything else to do with money, but may be all right hiring someone with a petty charge from 10 or 15 years prior. The type of conviction and the length of time that has passed since that conviction often affect hiring decisions. Any company that will perform a criminal background check to look for these things must inform the employee that a background check will be performed and that the information in it may be used to make a decision about hiring or promotion.
2). Employee criminal history checks protect your employees
For companies that already have employees working for them, protecting those employees is very important. When a business hires a person without a background check, and that person harms another employee, that can be very devastating for everyone involved. It could also put the business in legal trouble, since a background check may have found that the person who was hired could have been dangerous. The employee who was harmed may sue the business for not doing a background check, which may have contributed to an unsafe work environment.
3). Employee criminal history checks level the playing field
When performing an employee criminal history check on a current employee, it’s very important that the company make the issue clear. A consent form should be signed by the potential employee and the company, and all employees need to be treated equally. If a manager or owner is suspicious of an applicant and wants to perform a pre-employee criminal history check on them, then all applicants must be checked in the same way. To do otherwise could be viewed as discriminatory and could be grounds for a lawsuit. Businesses should be careful to avoid those types of problems.
Sources: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0157-employment-background-checks
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