Background Checks

Conducting online background checks? Beware the pitfalls

11/16/2010

Online tools can be highly valuable in recruiting and selecting the best candidates and screening out bad hires. Despite the potential advantages, those activities come with potential employment law risks that are still evolving due to the relatively recent emergence and growth of social media. Some of the obvious and not-so-obvious legal risks:

It’s sometimes OK to ask about expunged records

11/08/2010

Florida’s criminal court dockets are so overloaded that some relatively minor offenses are never tried. And courts often expunge arrest records so people who were charged but never convicted can move on without the shadow of a criminal record hanging over them, affecting their ability to work. However, in Florida, some employers can still ask about expunged criminal records.

Schwarzenegger vetoes applicant credit report ban

10/15/2010

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed A.B. 482, a bill that would have prevented employers from using consumer credit reports when performing background checks on employees and applicants.

Make sure you retain all applicant information

10/15/2010

You may never see it coming: A disappointed applicant sues you after you give the job to someone else. However, you can be prepared—if you have held onto all documents and materials related to the hiring process. If you wind up in court and need to show why you didn’t select an applicant, those records may provide the rationale.

May we ask applicants about criminal records?

09/24/2010

Q. We’re going back and forth on this question: On an employment application, can we legally ask about an applicant’s prior conviction record or arrest record?

Strike 3 for bill banning applicant credit checks?

09/23/2010

The California State Senate and State Assembly have approved a bill that would restrict the use of credit reports by employers that conduct background checks on job applicants and employees. But enactment isn’t a sure thing, based on the recent history of similar legislation.

What are the rules on applicant credit checks?

09/16/2010

Q. Our company would like to review applicants’ credit information when we make hiring decisions. Can we do this?

New laws for a new year: Illinois employers face new credit check, wage payment requirements

09/16/2010

The Illinois General Assembly has been busy, passing legislation that HR professionals need to know about. Specifically: the Employee Credit Privacy Act, which prohibits many Illinois employers from basing hiring, promotion and other employment decisions on the credit histories of employees and job applicants, and the Wage Payment and Collection Act, which protects employees who have not been paid all their wages.

States putting new limits on background checks

09/14/2010

Illinois last month passed a law that prohibits employers (in most cases) from using a person’s personal credit history to fire, refuse to hire or otherwise discriminate against the person. Several other states are considering similar bills.

First Transit sued over criminal background checks

09/03/2010

Cincinnati-based First Transit faces charges that its policy barring all applicants who have a felony conviction disparately impacts minorities and therefore violates the Civil Rights Act.