The rights and wrongs of background checks

53% of all job applications contain inaccurate information, background checks ought to be something all employers should be implementing or at least considering. However, employers have to be careful. There is a lot of legislation surrounding background checks, employment law and an individual’s right to privacy, so if you are running background checks, you need to make sure you do it right. With that in mind, here are some quick rights and wrongs for how to perform background checks: Rights

• Inform the prospective employee that you plan to perform an online search.
• Make use of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which spells out everything you’re allowed to look into.
• It might also be worth checking sex offender registries and running Patriot Act searches.
• Get written permission from the candidate before you investigate anything.
• If you plan to undertake the background check yourself, you must be aware of the regulations, procedures, and policies that you must comply with in order to perform a legal background search.

•  Investigating an applicant without their explicit permission.
• Be wary of running social media background checks, as you may come across information which could influence your hiring decision, such as race or age. To make a hiring decision based on such information is illegal.
• If you do uncover something that  gives you reason enough not to employ this person, you are required to give notice to the applicant that their consumer report was reviewed, give them a copy of the report, and provide them the FTC’s A Summary of Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It’s vital you don’t skip this.
• Background checks are neither free nor instant, so avoid background screening companies or websites that make such promises.
• Don’t cut corners. The initial up-front investment of running background checks will be well worth it in the long run.