Companies conduct pre-employment background checks to ensure the employee fits in well, poses no risk, and is competent. The check can include reference checks, consumer investigative reports, credit reports, criminal history, physical tests, drug tests, and lie detector tests. Laws govern what employers can consider and the types of checks allowed.
There are many reasons why companies want to conduct a pre-employment background check. When a new employee is hired, companies want to ensure that the employee fits in well, does not pose a risk to other employees, and is competent to do the required job. A pre-employment background check can help answer some of these questions, depending on how extensive it is.
Some companies do a pre-employment preflight themselves. They can do very simple things like verify that employees work at companies listed in their employment history. When this is the only question asked, this is called a reference check. These checks can become more extensive if the company chooses and the prospective employee agrees to allow more background checking.
Employers may, with the permission of applicants, run a consumer investigative report. This allows employers to ask for more specific information about previous employers, such as the candidate’s job performance. Not all companies will provide this information due to some liability issues. An investigative consumer report may also include interviews with identified references or friends and family of the applicant.
Another common part of a pre-employment background check is running a credit report. Companies hiring people who will be handling money may want to be sure that employees are not at risk of theft due to poor financial circumstances. Alternatively, people may view people with poor credit as irresponsible and not want to hire them. This can be an unreasonable judgment, since unemployment, which drives many to look for work, can quickly cause poor credit, and unemployment isn’t always the employee’s fault. As with consumer investigation reports, companies must obtain permission from applicants to carry out a credit check.
Other aspects of a pre-employment background check can get more complicated. Companies may want to look into criminal history. Unless the person is applying for certain types of jobs that require fingerprinting, most companies don’t have access to databases that will search criminal history at the state or national level. Instead, they may simply comb public records in areas where the employee previously lived to be certain the applicant has never been charged or convicted of a felony.
Companies may perform a few other pre-employment preflight methods. They may ask applicants to undergo physical tests, undergo drug tests or lie detector tests. These can be expensive and many companies simply do a reference check. Some companies subcontract these checks to other companies that specialize in background checks, but this again depends on the needs of the company and the types of work available.
There may be strict laws governing what an employer may consider when looking to hire someone else. There are also many laws regarding the types of background checks that can be performed and the types of permissions needed to legally check background. It is prudent to research local, state and federal laws to determine the employer’s and applicant’s legal rights in this regard.
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