Avoid EEOC lawsuits with smart pre-employment background screening practices

revised and re-released in 2012. In 2013, the EEOC filed 131 lawsuits, including suits against Dollar General and BMW. “We have an obligation to move beyond the ‘safe’ cases, and to identify and address less familiar discriminatory barriers emerging from changes in the economy, technology and demographics,” said P. David Lopez, the EEOC’s General Counsel. In 2013, the EEOC filed several lawsuits against employers who conducted background checks, claiming they were discriminatory because pre-employment background screening unfairly targets black and Hispanic males with criminal records. Pre-employment background screening is still important to the safety and effectiveness of your business, and you should continue to utilize checks during the hiring process. Consider the guidelines for smart screening practices below.

• A criminal history should not immediately eliminate a candidate from consideration (keeping in mind that schools and care facilities must comply with additional laws for hiring practices). Each candidate should be considered based on the position he or she is applying for; for non-violent crimes, criminal history should only be a factor if the previous offense(s) are related to the position for which the candidate is applying. The number of offenses committed, post-conviction employment history, and attempts to rehabilitate should all be taken into account.
• Ensure policies are in place — and in writing — for fair hiring practices. While you shouldn’t say that anyone with an arrest record is disqualified, you may say, for example, that if any applicant is dishonest on an application, the applicant will be immediately disqualified. Avoid discriminatory language.
• Avoid conducting credit reports or reviews on every candidate; limit it to candidates applying for positions in which purchasing power or knowledge of financial information is required for the position.
• Ensure you comply with all state and federal regulations in addition to the ones set out by the EEOC. The best way to ensure compliance is to hire a certified pre-employment background screening company that has kept up with the law and knows how to keep your company safe from litigation.