Tips For Using Criminal Records in Hiring Decisions
Posted on: June 18, 2020 by Gavin MuirheadDeciding who to hire is an important and complex decision for any company. Employees can add value to any business, and having the right people on board ensures every job can be done efficiently, safely, and responsibly.
Using background checks is a great way to verify the history and professional details of potential hires. At Affordable Background Checks, we provide a variety of background checks that can screen for many different factors, including criminal records.
Criminal records can be an important tool when it comes to hiring. The information gained via a criminal background check can help many employers make hiring decisions, but there are some key points to keep in mind to ensure the information is used not only usefully, but also in compliance with federal and state laws.
Whether you are hiring for a large corporation or a family-run store, the backgrounds of your employees matter. It can make a huge impact on who you decide to invite onto your team, who to promote, or who to let go.
Information in Criminal Record Background Checks
When you run a criminal record check with a trusted and verified source, you’ll gain access to a wide variety of crucially important information. Background checks will make you aware of any misdemeanors, DUIs, felonies, and sex offender charges.
This kind of background check will also show you if the pontional hire has ever been arrested, convicted, or has any active or past warrants. Criminal backgrounds checks that are complete and thorough should include all of this information, rather than just one or two aspects of the person’s legal history.
Following EEO Guidelines
Under the federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) guidelines, employers are prohibited from discriminating against potential employees when they go through the hiring process. However, employers are legally allowed and sometimes required to run criminal background checks, depending on the profession.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that although criminal records are allowed to factor into hiring decisions, they must affect people of all groups equally. This means that it’s illegal to let criminal records influence hiring eligibility based on factors such as race, age, or gender. It is important to understand how to use a background check properly and indiscriminately, without bias based on the above factors.
Following FCRA Guidelines
The Fair Credit Reporting Agency (FCRA) also has guidelines that should be followed in order to ensure you are hiring fairly and legally. The guidelines state that you must notify potential hirees that you will be conducting a criminal background check. You must also send a report and summary to applicants if a negative hiring decision is made based on information in a criminal background check.
Using Criminal Background Checks to Hire
All employers want to keep their customers, their businesses, their assets, and their other employees safe. When using information in criminal background checks, it’s key to determine the job requirements the potentialhiree will be fulfilling. It’s also necessary to check with local, state, and federal laws to check for guidelines for specific positions. This is especially key in positions that require high levels of trust, working with less supervision, or is relatively public-facing. Research and due diligence should be conducted in order to see if/when any past charges are reason to make a negative hiring decision.
At Affordable Background Checks, we provide you with all the tools and services you need to follow best hiring practices. We believe every employer should be able to protect their business and company by being able to make the best possible hiring decisions. Cost should not stand in the way of keeping your business safe and thriving, which is why we keep our complete and thorough background checks at a cost that you can afford.
Our criminal background checks are reliable, through, and dependable. We are here to provide you with all the information and tools you need to ensure you hire responsibly. Using a variety of sources, we compile a criminal background check that has all the information you need to verify the background and integrity of your potential hires. The hiring process is complicated, so let us make this aspect easier. Call us today for more details.
