Employers Not Using Background Checks at Risk

Written By Thomas Ahearn

Attorney Lester Rosen, founder and CEO of background check firm Employment Screening Resources® (ESR), says in a Business News Daily article that employers not using background checks are at risk since they are welcoming strangers into their businesses when hiring new employees who have not been properly vetted. The article ‘Employee Background Checks: What’s Legal, What’s Not’ is available at http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6166-why-you-need-to-use-background-checks.html.

Rosen, author of ‘The Safe Hiring Manual,’ tells Business News Daily that job applicants not undergoing background checks are virtual strangers to employers. “That stranger has access to your customers, your cash, your IT, everything,” Rosen explains. “It would make as much sense to do that as it would to walk down the street and give the keys to the front door of your home to a total stranger.”

In the article, Rosen says employers look for criminal records involving convictions of serious crimes that may affect the ability of applicants to do their jobs. However, just having a criminal record is not enough of a reason to disqualify an applicant under new federal laws. “You can’t automatically throw away the application from someone with a criminal record just because of their criminal record,” he explains.

Rosen tells Business News Daily the law mandates that employers learn more about criminal records found on background checks to determine any potential impact on the job and in the workplace. He also said employers can use background checks to find sex offender status, driving records, and Social Security traces which show past addresses of the candidate and if any alias names were ever used.

Rosen also stresses that credit report checks on applicants should only be run when there is a clear connection between credit information and the nature of the job. He says employers who do not conduct background checks properly run the risk of being sued by a job applicant: “You have to make sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s because it is heavily legally regulated.”

While cost is associated with conducting background checks, Rosen says screening is a lot cheaper than hiring employees who steal or hurt people. “Most of the time, most of the people pass the background check. But if you get someone who has a problem, employers will be very happy they dodged the bullet and didn’t bring someone into the workplace who is dangerous, unfit, dishonest, or unqualified.”

About Employment Screening Resources® (ESR):

Employment Screening Resources® (ESR) – ‘The Background Check Authority®’– is a nationwide provider of background checks accredited by The National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS®). ESR Founder and CEO Attorney Lester Rosen wrote the book on background checks with “The Safe Hiring Manual” and is a frequent speaker for “ESR Speaks.” To learn more about ESR, visit https://www.esrcheck.com, call Toll Free 888.999.4474, or email [email protected].

About ESR News: 

The ESR News Blog provides employment screening background check information for employers, recruiters, and jobseekers. For more information about ESR News, please email ESR News Editor Thomas Ahearn at [email protected].