There is a rise of “negligent hiring” lawsuits in the U.S. The courts are finding that companies, even small businesses, have “duty of care” responsibility to make sure other employees and customers are safe from physical harm and security risks when doing business with you and your staff.
The following are ways an employer can be held financially liable by the court system:
- An employee intentionally injures another employee, client. or customer.
- Proper supervision and security wasn’t established to monitor a worker with a propensity for a violent or illegal behaviors.
- The court finds the company didn’t perform proper pre-employment checks, and had they been run, the checks would have shown a history of illegal or violent behavior.
Companies seeking talent for positions all the way from CEO to IT management to childcare workers for their employee’s children, to the warehouse floor, should be equally concerned about getting a full pre-employment screening, regardless of who they plan to welcome into their corporate family.
No matter the talent and no matter the reason, the quality of the background search depends on what method you use. Property owners attempting to use random internet “info searches” quickly find that you get what you pay for, and at $10-12 per search, there is no assurance that you have checked the right person when ten or twenty versions of the same name pop in to the report. Just hoping the information you selected belongs to the right individual on the list adds little security to your screening process.
Why Companies Must Use Reliable Background Checks
People who have fraudulent motives intentionally try to cover their tracks, and often you will not find the facts below the surface without a real background check. For example,
- People planted deliberately into your organization or industry can pass initial screenings.
- Criminals drawn to certain services or environments are often trying to get into places where they do not belong. They are manipulative and are prepared to intentionally deceive you.
- Small companies that rely on their entire staff to have interchangeable skills may provide inadvertent access to confidential records such as clients’ credit card applications or employee identity information like social security numbers, birth dates, and maiden names, all just sitting in files that are accessible to anyone with the network password.
There are several different types of background checks, so you need the correct search to gather the appropriate data in each circumstance. The best assurance that you are getting a comprehensive and applicable security background check is to hire a reliable service that runs these background checks as a total service. They can get beneath the surface, access real records data and qualify true and real time information. For more details on the purpose and process of pre-employment screenings, download our latest white paper.
Using a full service fraud consulting and investigation firm like the Brumell Group ensures your company has the backing of a licensed investigation agency providing nationwide coverage. Our highly experienced investigative staff assures our clients will receive quality investigations using Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) compliance standards, including all types of record searches and background investigations. For more information on how to protect your business, your staff, and your customers, contact us today at 904-880-5150.