Background Check Best Practices

These days every new employee brings a possible threat to your business, including theft, sexual harassment, physical violence, identity theft, fraud and drug use. Background checks in the security industry are obviously much more important and stringent than the checks performed by an average company, due to the trusted nature of security and the fact that many technicians are granted unsupervised and often unfettered access into people’s homes and businesses.

 

The potential for ruinous legal actions is clearly higher today than ever – which is why a background check could potentially save your business. However, it is essential that background checks be conducted within the maze of laws designed primarily to protect job applicants.

 

“The use of background checks is governed by a multitude of federal, state, and even local laws and regulations,” says labor law attorney David Roth, at Denver-based Fisher Phillips. “For example, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires advance notice to the applicant that a background check will be made, and the applicant must provide written consent for the procedure. Further, it requires that the employer provide a copy of the report to the applicant before and after taking any adverse action.”

 

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, along with other laws and regulations, makes it advisable to consult with an attorney experienced in labor law before adopting a policy of making pre-employment background checks. “Some laws actually require employers to conduct background checks,” says Roth. “For instance, background checks are usually required for applicants who will be working with children, the elderly or the disabled.”