Whatever unpleasant associations background checks may bring up, they can form an important facet of your due diligence for your small business. It’s not just about criminal matters, although that’s a part of it. For example, if you intend to hire an employee to handle sensitive financial matters, you’d want to know whether they have a previous conviction for kiting checks. If you want to enter into a strategic alliance with another company, you’ll want to know whether it has undergone a bankruptcy restructuring in recent years. A Dun & Bradstreet report, a Better Business Bureau report – both are forms of “background checks.�
And, of course, there are laws that govern the procedures for obtaining this information. As reported in “Legal Aspects of Background Checking,â€?Â
So far as the financial records are concerned, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB) governs the procedures through which personal financial information are disclosed to a third party. Then there is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that protects the privacy of a person’s consumer reports. Similarly, The Drivers Privacy Protection Act protects the past driving records of individuals.
Particularly when it comes to employees, many states do not require background checks (although they do require that you have employees fill out an Employment Authorization Document Form I-9, which documents immigration status). The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse provides an overview of what you can and cannot ask for. But most importantly, if a satisfactory background check will be a required condition of employment, this should be conveyed to the prospective employee in advance of the check and permission obtained.Â
This entry was posted on Monday, September 24th, 2007 at 9:24 am and is filed under Business Planning, Employees. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.6 Responses to “Conducting Background Checks”
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September 28th, 2007 at 7:23 am
An important reason to screen job applicants is that every employer has an obligation to take reasonable steps in the hiring process to avoid hiring someone who they either knew, or in the exercise of reasonable care, should have known was dangerous or unfit for a particular job. That is called “due diligence.” If an employer violates that duty, they can be sued for “negligent hiring.” Employers generally do not hire someone that they know is dangerous or unfit for a job. It is the “should have know” that creates the difficulty. Without taking steps to hire intelligently, it is almost a statistical certainty that an employer will hire someone with a criminal record that should have been considered in the hiring process.
That does not mean that a person with a criminal record can never get a job. In fact, it is to everyone’s best interest that a person with a criminal record be able to find employment to become a productive citizen. But there are certain jobs that just are not appropriate for certain people. A person with a criminal history showing violence, for example, is not a reasonable fit for a job that places them into a person’s home.
It can be a challenge for a small business to do background checks. First, there is no such thing as a “nationwide” criminal check. Each courthouse where a person could potentially have a record must be searched. And with over 10,000 courthouses in America, not every courthouse can be checked.
However, there are a number of common sense steps an employer can take. Most important amount them are to carefully review the employment application and then to contat past employers. Even if past employers only confirm dates of employment and job title that is critical information.
There are a lager number of professional pre-employment beckoned firms that can help employers. More information about background screening can be obtained through the professional association for the screening industry, The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (www.NAPBS.com).
September 28th, 2007 at 8:15 am
It is easy to say; “That does not mean that a person with a criminal record can never get a job”, but ask any one with a record. If you have a record and the potential employer is running a background checks, you might as well just walk away. Companies hiring won’t/can’t tell you this as they would be sued. If you have a record very few will hire if checks are done. In my experiences, if they run a record, I might as well forget it. I have had a record since 1996 for growing a few pot plants. Any job I have applied for that runs a background check; I have never been hired at let alone get a second interview. (I have Bach of Science in Bus Admin, minor (almost major) in history and accounting.) I usually let them know about my record at the first interview so it saves us both time. Whether growing a few plants or robbing a bank with a gun, everyone with criminal records are thrown into one group, non hirable due to conviction. And yes many will resort back to crime because no one will hire them. Technically not even a gas station can hire you because a felon generally can not be bonded. So if no one will give you a chance to earn more than minimum wage, how can they try and support their family legally, they can’t. So that is another reason many turn back to crime.
Another view is that they are trying to separate the upper form lower classes even more. But this is another story.
September 28th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Here are also two excellent websites:
http://www.BackgroundCheckDirectory.com
http://www.USPublicRecords.com
October 8th, 2007 at 9:27 am
[...] Kaufman, who writes the “Make It Legal” blog for Entrepreneur filed a post titled “Conducting Background Checks.” The blog provides information on legal matters for small businesses. Most of the advice is pretty [...]
August 16th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
This website is equally great! PeopleSearches.com
http://www.PeopleSearches.com
September 20th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Here is the company I always use to vet my potential employee and business relations – http://www.assetsearchpros.com