An employment background screening is a term used to describe the process of searching and compiling criminal records, driving records, financial records and other pieces of information of an individual.
Assume you’ve followed all procedures to find and interview a possible employee and you are moments away from accepting a new team member into your company. Then, you receive your report for the employment background screening with multiple red flags, and now you’re unsure where to go from there.
Referencing your company policy would be a good idea in this situation. Hiring guidelines are extremely helpful for structuring common HR issues, such as questions raised from one’s background screening results.
Acceptable Policies for Criminal Background Screening
Companies will decide how lenient they want to be when it comes to a criminal record. Some have zero tolerance, whereas others may be willing to overlook minor infractions. It’s important to take into consideration how the applicant’s criminal background may affect their performance at work.
Taking Time into Consideration
You will want to decide if the date the crime was committed affects their eligibility. A candidate at the age of fifty may have committed a crime in their late teens but has held a clean record since then. It will be your decision to determine if the offense will still affect their performance to this day.
Fraud/Theft in the Workplace
For many companies, fraud and or theft will lead to automatic termination of employment to current employees and instant disinterest for future employees. If you share similar beliefs, it’s urgent to include this in your company policy.
The Importance of Consistency
Actively enforce your company’s policy by specifying the consequences and conditions. Being consistent in implementing employment policies by immediately addressing fraud in the workplace. Consistency may help mitigate negligent hiring claims and deter fraud
Communicating Your Concerns
Once you’ve decided not to hire your candidate, you must follow a procedure to decline their employment. FCRA requires companies to follow guidelines after rejecting a client due to negative background screening results.
You must provide an employer with a pre-adverse action letter before you tell them you’ve decided against hiring a candidate. After the first letter is delivered, the FCRA requires a waiting period so the applicant can respond to their background report if desired. After the time has passed, you can proceed with the final adverse-action communication that tells your application they will not be employed.