Employment Background Checks
Employment Background Checks Definition
Employment background checks are also commonly called reference
checks. But reference checks, such as contacting your former bosses
and coworkers, are typically only one part of employment background checks,
which also include investigation into one or more of the following.
Beware! The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has approved social-media screening in employment background checks. Subsequently,
be careful about what you post at social-networking
sites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.
Employers conduct employment background checks to verify the integrity
of job applicants and employees for hiring,
promotion, reassignment and retention decisions.
They also do so to avoid negligent-hiring lawsuits; for example, if an
employer doesn't conduct employment background checks before hiring, then
the employer might be liable if
a job applicant later harms other employees and has a history of doing
so.
Employers hire investigative (consumer-reporting, credit-reporting or
background-check) agencies to conduct employment background checks. Alternately
or additionally, employers rely on their human resources departments to
conduct them.
 Some
job seekers who have had difficulty landing jobs hire investigative agencies
to conduct background checks on themselves, so they may attempt to change
any negative or inaccurate information. If you're having trouble landing
a job and can't figure why, then you might consider doing the same.
Employment background checks are generally legal. (Much personal information
is a matter of public record these days. Anyone can access pubic records.)
In fact, the Federal government has long required its agencies to
conduct background checks for certain jobs, often as part of security-clearance
investigations. After 9/11, the government required its private-sector contractors to
do the same and a subsequent Supreme Court ruling upheld the requirement
as constitutional.
Additionally, certain state and Federal laws require employers to conduct
background checks (particularly for criminal records) when jobs involve "vulnerable" individuals,
such as children or people who are sick, disabled, or elderly.
However, state and Federal laws do regulate background checks to some
degree; for example, an investigative agency hired by an employer cannot
conduct a credit check without a job applicant's permission and must disclose
the applicant's rights. After the Great Recession officially ended, some states passed laws that further restricted or prohibited credit checks for employment purposes.
Technically,
job applicants may refuse to authorize background checks; but, in reality,
they're less likely to land new jobs if they do.
It's a misconception that it's "illegal" for employers to disclose
information about former employees during employment background checks.
Generally, relevant state laws allow employers to disclose information
about former employees, as long as the information is truthful, factual
and limited to employment matters. Read the next page for more about this.
Next Page > Background Check
Laws
Page > 1 2
|
Subscribe
