Factual Employment Screening

Twoantiquated policy can make the whole process
An Employment Screening Outlinesuspect, if not litigable. Make sure that an updating
Policy Developmentmemorandum is included in the procedure file for
A policy of Factual Employment Screening;audit purposes.
Personality Evaluation/testing; and/or Drug TestingImplementation
should be developed and embedded into the coreThe human resources department should set up
policy manual rather than exist as a supplementthe program with the vendor’s assistance.
or bulletin policy. This avoids any “after theEach organization will develop its own forms and
fact” ramifications, should the policy beprocedures based on its own requirements and
challenged under discriminatory theories.goals. This will entail a variety of personnel
The policy should have an effective date, and ifprotocols, establishing contacts and liaisons
the corporate philosophy is for “purification”between the company and the vendor,
of existing staff, then a policy implementationdetermining time requirements, and such basis
should be evident, along with the reasoning formechanisms as fax numbers.
the retroactive purification of the staff. This isFile Maintenance
common practice following a recently resolvedInvestigative Consumer Reports (screening
internal problem, where specific numbers of staffreports) should never be maintained in the
have been terminated for one problem oremployee’s jacket, but should instead be
another. No justification is needed whenkept under lock and key with limited access by
implementing new programs if the purification is inauthorized management personnel in separate file
line with the philosophy of the company.facility and in alphabetical order. The files should be
Policy Guidelinesmaintained for the seven-year statutory period
Consistency is the key when establishing newcommensurate with employee file retention.
policies, especially when said policies enter into theBackground information forms contain confidential
gray and ever-changing areas of human rights andsubject data, including date of birth and other
right to privacy. For example, when establishinginformation, and should not be maintained by the
any screening parameter there must be absolutehuman resources department. The vendor should
consistency within each specific employment classdo this as part of their service, and in the event
in order to avoid the obvious Title 7 ramifications.the form is required for court purposes, should
Additionally, inconsistent programs will invalidateprovide it upon request for up to seven years.
any baseline, as companies providing employment,Interpretation
drug, and psychological screening have noParameters on how to interpret information
industry-based uniformity, and new variables canshould be established at the outset of the
enter the picture which will skew the standard.program, and should be undertaken by the same
Date of effective programpersonnel to ensure consistent application of
Set forth the date of management’stheorems of qualifiers for continued candidacy or
decision to implement the screening programs andhiring. This area is open for discussion and, of
the actual date of implementation.course, varies with each environment.
Referral to Employee Classification, and overviewAs you can undoubtedly imagine, in order to
of class requirementsproperly implement any factual screening program
These details can be included here, but are bestone needs to start with forms which allow the
left in general terms to allow for modification at acandidate to provide thorough information such as
later date. Each class would have specificname, address and so forth. These forms should
screening requirements, which would bebe the starting point for any intelligent screening
determined by management as to job,program. Just about everyone has an
applicability, exposure, and other employeeemployment application, or some form of release
interface. Sample general class terms includedisclaimer used in the initial application process.
Fiduciary Capacity Employees — Non-Many screening firms are turning to some form
Exempt (cash handlers and janitors with keyof independent release form for their clients, after
access): Management/Policymaker (those wholong conducting checks without them. The forms
would set policy and those who have signingvary in substance and content, and you would be
authority); Management/Mid-level (those whowell advised to learn as much as possible about
supervise others); and Sales Force —the philosophy of the form before using it in order
Outside (those who would be field personnel andto avoid trouble from an unsophisticated form.
those who would use company vehicles).The information requested should include the
Formologyfollowing:
Forms and/or procedures applicable to eachFull Name
specific employment class should be developed toCurrent and prior addresses
ensure processing consistency and provide aAncillary name forms
competent audit trail for future reference.Social Security number
Referral of candidate (by name) to firmsDate of birth (Yes, this absolutely legal if it is being
conducting various levels of screening.used for criminal file identification purposes, and
This is very important as the baseline for thethe applicant is made aware of this sole use. You
screening rests with the vendor since no industrymust also not keep a copy of this form
guideline exists. It is also critical in combatinganywhere in the employee’s file in case
allegations of age/policy/screening discrimination. Ifthe EEOC auditor doesn’t see things quite
you are curious about changing a vendor, thisthe way you do.)
should be done with a memorandum of policyDriver’s license number
modification, rather than a core change, which willCriminal history disclosure section (This varies
survive litigation if the effective change isfrom state to state, and must be constructed in
implemented across the board for hiresaccordance with guidelines and standards for the
subsequent to the date of vendor change. Good,disclosure, acquisition and release of criminal
Solid Factual Employment Screening is not theinformation under applicable state law.) Agreement
Ultimate Decision-Maker you are.and consent to obtain consumer information
Policy decision(Some of the more sophisticated forms now in
This should rest with top corporate management,use have some effective, built-in disclosure
or at the highest divisional levels. It should beinducement items which are the result of
included in the minutes of board meetings, andinvestments in psychological research and testing.
disclosed in publicly held (10K/10Q) firms as aThese are designed to get more than just a
negligent hiring mitigator. The policy can be usedregurgitation of subject identifiers.) We have
as a positive offsetter for ongoing litigationpurposely not provided a sample form with this
disclosure requirement in 10K/10Q.article due to the proprietary nature of the good
Vendor Selectionones in existence. Also, since each business
A thorough background check on the firmenvironment is different, it is possible that a
supplying the service should include:“generic” form might be used improperly.
.How long in business?Conclusion
.Type of criminal conviction research (hand vs.At this point, you should have a basic familiarity
database), as well as if andhow discoveries areand comfort level with the world of factual
verified against subject identifiers.employment screening and its ramifications. The
.How deep are the research and data capabilities?key things to remember are as follows.
.National research capabilityEstablish an intelligent and consistent
.Licensure designation (PI, reporting agency, creditpolicy of factual employment screening, drug
bureau, and so forth).testing, and/or personality evaluation.
.For older firms like guard service companies, how.Perform a thorough job of screening your
long since they “got into the fad” ofemployment candidates.Rely only upon
employment screening?tried and true methods of employment screening,
.Press noteworthinessas trendy or new wave methods, which are
.Depth of human resources vs. securityuntested, can land you in court very quickly.
experience (both is optimal)..Use common sense and rely on your intuition.
Litigation history (errors/omissions).Good, solid factual employment screening is not
Depth of professional liability insurance.the ultimate decision maker — you are.
Who runs the division?The final report should only serve to reinforce
.Cost/turnaround/reporting method — rawyour evaluation of the candidate, nothing more.
data is instant death; a “compiled report” is.Run your screening program with compliance in
best.mind at all times. If you don’t, it is certain
.Jurisdictional coverage and researcher consistencythat labor attorneys, EEOC auditors, and others
— avoid the database vendors.will confront you.
.Analysis of ancillary services (i.e. How can a newIn a nutshell, employment screening is like any
private patrol operator or recently retired policeother sensible management policy. If you are
officer afford to have thoroughly researched thecareful, smart, thoroughly qualify your vendors,
nuances of employment screening laws in all 50and implement a viable common sense program,
states?)you will not only get better people in the
.How often is the program reviewed by counsel?organization, but also have less opportunity to
Screening Program Reviewexercise your workplace violence contingency
The program should be reviewed quarterly forplans or initiate fraud examinations.
compliance as the issues change regularly, and an