The introduction of additional premiums for certain risk factors in the workplace has resulted in the need to be more diligent in hiring practices. As the liability to businesses has grown when employees or customers are injured, it has become more important to assure a safe work environment through the screening process.
Policies regarding background screening in the United States are uniform for companies. The regulations of the Federal government regarding hiring practices are very clear about what types of screenings may be conducted. It is also required that applicants for jobs agree to each type of screening that will be conducted before hiring. If they do not agree employee background verification companies to a type of background screening they may refuse to allow the screening to take place.
Ensuring that applicants for a position are drug and alcohol-free and do not have a history of drug and alcohol abuse can be very difficult for an interviewer. There are many indicators present when a person is under the influence of drugs and alcohol that are not apparent when a person is not under the influence. Therefore businesses needed to be able to positively ascertain that a potential employee did not have this history for insurance companies to assume the liability of the business.
To maintain the lowest premiums possible for their client’s insurance, companies must keep the risk of liability to a minimum. This can be very difficult when it relates to businesses that interact with customers daily. When the business also involves driving vehicles through busy traffic daily the risk of injury to employees and citizens is compounded. The insurance companies found that by requiring background screening on applicants that the risk for liability was greatly reduced.
A single form with the list of background screenings to be completed is presented to an applicant before being hired. This list can include criminal background and credit background, as well as a motor vehicle background screening if the individual will be driving. While criminal background screening is mandatory for hire, there are a few incidents when credit and motor vehicle screenings are also required for a job applicant.
A criminal background check is conducted using fingerprints. Many companies conduct a state-wide criminal history check that will reflect any criminal activity within the specific state. These types of criminal screenings do not, however, reflect a criminal history that has occurred in other states. The request for this type of criminal background screening is conducted in the state where it is requested and takes from four to six weeks for results to be returned.
When a more extensive criminal history screening is required, a company may send the request to both their state office and the federal government. The federal government maintains a database that includes criminal information from almost every state and has up-to-date records of criminal histories for any individual who has been arrested, tried, and convicted of a felony. The database that holds these records is very large and the results from this screening can take several months to receive.
When conducting employment verification, a company is restricted from asking questions of a subjective nature and may not include personal comments of previous employers regarding the character of an individual in their decision process. In addition, there are restrictions during the process of Employee Screening as to the types of questions that personal references may be asked regarding the individual’s character that are subjective and unrelated to the job for which they are applying. Contact us to get the best employee background screening services.
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