When Criminal Background Checks Can Backfire Most companies perform criminal background checks on potential employees and they have every right to do so. However, remember that the goal of the phone calls and database searches is not to dig up dirt on the person being investigated. Rather, your goal is to verify information that the subject provided. If you are a business conducting a criminal background check, here are some pitfalls to avoid, courtesy of The Resource for Security Executives (CSO):
- Do not search on some applicants, but not others
- Do not dig for information that is scandalous or irrelevant to the position for which the person has applied or you may face a lawsuit for discrimination, privacy invasion or improper termination.
The theory is that errors or omissions you discover during a background check may indicate a pattern of lies and falsehood. A good idea is to take a sampling of the items on an application to check out. If you are finding they do not check out, then it's a safe assumption that most of the application is bogus.
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