Background Checks — To Check or Not?

By: Beth Slagle

It’s no wonder that 85% of employers use outside agencies to conduct background checks on potential hires according to a recent survey by the Society of Human Resource Management. Another recent survey showed that as many as 43% of resumes have significant inaccuracies.

But, as the number of companies doing background checks increases, so do the number of legal actions in which potential employees claim they were unfairly treated. Many such claims occur when a company withdraws a job offer based on something revealed by a background check.

Most companies only check criminal records when they do employee background checks. A growing number, however, are also doing what is called a “civil records check,” which means checking records of civil courts. A civil records check reveals all civil lawsuits, including bankruptcies, divorces and discrimination cases against former employers. Employers should use this information with extreme caution. For example, federal law prohibits not hiring job applicants because they have been or are in bankruptcy.

Some tips to minimize the likelihood of a background check leading to a legal action include:

• Have a written policy, which is signed by the applicant or employee, that stipulates the type of background check the company will make and at what stage in the employment process the checks will be made.
• Be consistent in the use of background checks.
• Only use information from either criminal and civil records checks that specifically relates to the job description and workplace.
• Keep confidential information from all background checks.

Beth Slagle, Esquire – Meyer, Unkovic & Scott, bas@muslaw.com or 412.456.2890