The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and other agencies have recently increased regulations in regards to background screening processes. In light of this, review your background screening process and how it can help you avoid unnecessary costs. In addition, it’s also important to stay protected with Professional Liability Insurance.
According to an article in Recruiting Blogs, there are 5 ways to help reduce risk with background screening.
- Follow the FTC and EEOC guidelines and requirements. The EEOC has launched guidance factors that focus on how organizations use criminal records to discriminate. It’s important that employers understand these factors and their goal to reduce perceived discrimination. A lot of firms are not following proper screening requirements.
- Work with an accredited firm. This accreditation with the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) ensures that this screening firm has been audited for proper procedures, protects any private information and understands state and federal requirements.
- Provide proper disclosure and authorization forms. This is important because when organizations fail to provide their candidate with this form than lawsuits emerge. Make sure the candidate has signed the authorization form prior to the background check and that it’s filed within the organization.
- Follow the adverse action process properly. Work with your company’s legal counsel and background screening firm to ensure that you have proper procedures set up for your employees.
- Review your own policies and procedures with your legal counsel. Do this often to confirm there are no changes in laws or regulations, federally or in your state. It’s also important to do a periodic review of internal hiring procedures to reduce during risk of background screening and hiring procedures.
At World Wide Speciality Programs, we provide policies that protect your Staffing Firm from any legal actions including financial loss and services performed by contract workers of all kinds- from administrative to blue collar. We are also designed to perform for a variety of industries. We take pride in offering comprehensive coverage for your insurance needs. For more information, call us today at 877.256.0468.