Preventing Employee Dishonesty > Background Checks
In our previous post, we talked about some of the ways staffing agencies can prevent crime from occurring internally. One of the most common ways to ensure you’re hiring quality people is to perform a background check. While it might look better on the employer’s behalf to take the candidate at face value and trust their word, that’s a risk that many aren’t willing to take. In this article, we’ll provide some tips on how to conduct background checks lawfully and wisely. Before reading on, protect your operations with a specialized Staffing Crime Insurance policy.
Tailor the background check.
If you’re a small agency, you likely don’t have a team of HR staff ready to tackle this process. Or, if you do, you still want to make sure the background check is relevant.
According to Accurate Information Systems, criminal record checks should be universal. Credit checks are reasonable for anyone who will be handling money. Health checks may be reasonable for nurses or heavy equipment operators, but if the job doesn’t justify the screening, don’t include it. You’ll save time and money, and avoid potential legal pitfalls.
Get consent.
You can’t run a background check without the applicant’s consent. If you do, you run the risk of breaking some privacy laws, which can put your firm in legal trouble.
Know what’s available to you in your state.
Criminal, financial and medical record access varies from state to state. Before running the background check, inform yourself on what will even be available to you so you don’t waste time and money.
Denying a candidate.
Based on the information you retrieve from a background check, you can make your employment decision. However, some laws require that you provide a copy of the report to the candidate if it’s the sole reason you denied them a job at your firm. What’s more, these circumstances also require that you allow the candidate to explain your findings.
About World Wide
For the last 50 years, World Wide Specialty Programs has dedicated itself to providing the optimal products and solutions for the staffing industry. As the only insurance firm to be an ASA commercial liability partner, we are committed to that partnership and committed to using our knowledge of the industry to provide staffing firms with the best possible coverage. For more information about Staffing Professional Liability Insurance or any other coverage we have available to protect your staffing business, give us a call at (800) 245-9653 to speak with one of our representatives.