HUMAN RESOURCES
In a perfect world, a business would only have to worry about what the competition
is up to in order to be successful. In reality businesses also need to make sure that
their employees are not a danger to the company’s goals. An employee is often privy
to the employer’s confidential proprietary information and could be in a unique
position to abuse their position within the company for their own gain.
R
egardless of the size of your business, pre-em- for small businesses deciding to conduct pre-
ployment screening is a highly recommend- employment screening is to utilize the services
ed hiring practice, as it helps to prevent many of of a background checking company. By hiring
the costly pitfalls that are associated with em- an outside company you can add efficiency and
ployee hiring. Today’s hiring environment reveals thoroughness to the process, as well as also gaining
the need for a more rigorous screening process guidance on the legal requirements and federal
than simply interviewing and checking referenc- and state regulations. Another perk of using an
es. Necessitated by the rise of security concerns, outside agency for screening is that under the
corporate scandals, and workplace violence, pre- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), your business
employment screening is now an invaluable com- can gain limited legal immunity in the areas of
ponent for businesses of all sizes. Over 96% of defamation, invasion of privacy, and negligence in
HR professionals report that their companies do the investigation.
background checks of new hires, up from 66%
in 1996 according to The Society for Human Re- Under the FCRA, your business must comply with
source Management Workplace Violence Survey. specific requirements if you use an outside agency
to perform background checks as part of your
Investigating the background of a potential hiring procedures. The critical first step before
hire can help minimize your risk of liability for having the check run is to ensure that the applicant
actions of a new employee; a risk of liability that or employee agrees to, and signs, a disclosure
increases exponentially when a background check form granting authorization for the background
is not performed. Before starting to perform these check. After the screening, the applicant must be
checks, or as a supplement to your existing hiring provided with a copy of their consumer report and
procedures, make sure that your business is aware a summary of their rights under the FCRA (also
of the legal considerations that impact this area. called a Consumer Summary). Before you are able to
A prevalent, and increasingly popular, solution deny an applicant a position based on the findings
 ThinkBusiness June 2009 
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