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Articles of Interest
by Industry Sources

The following articles may be of interest to employers seeking information about background checks and employment screening.


Avoiding Negligent Hiring Lawsuits

HR Management
http://www.hrmreport.com/pastissue/article.asp?art=268447&issue=172
Key Points:
  • Background Checks go a long way in providing for a safe, productive work environment and avoiding litigation as a result of negligent hiring.
  • The best practice for an accurate, cost-effective criminal background check is to research where your applicants have lived, worked, and gone to school during the last 7 years.
  • Properly documenting pre-employment background checks does not guarantee you won't be sued, but will drastically reduce the chance of being found guilty of negligence or discrimination.


Criminal Background Checks Incomplete: How convicted felons can slip through safety net

MSNBC
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7467732/
Points of Interest:
  • Spotty participation by the nation's 3,100 county courts, along with a hodgepodge of data formats, make national crime databases vastly incomplete.
  • The national databases have a 41 percent error rate.
  • There is only one way to conduct a thorough criminal background check: combine computer-based nationwide searches with old-fashioned in-person visits to county courthouses that house criminal record information.


Bulletproof Practices

HR Magazine
http://www.shrm.org/hrmagazine/articles/1102/1102covstory.asp
Points of Interest:
  • The annual tab for workplace violence and stress-inducing hostility in the workplace comes to about $13.5 billion in medical costs and 500,000 workers missing 1.75 million days of work.
  • Background checks are not foolproof. Nonetheless, doing them reduces vulnerability in a negligence claim.
  • Even if a reference refuses to supply information, the fact that an effort was made helps demonstrate due diligence.


10 Ways to Catch a Liar

webmd.com
http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/10-ways-catch-liar
Key Point:
  • Experts share ten tips that can help you know if someone is telling you the whole truth.


Beyond Pre-Hire Background Checks: Post-Hire Screens Become the Norm

SHRM Staffing Management Library
http://www.shrm.org/ema/library_published/nonIC/CMS_020543.asp (membership login required)
Key Point:
  • Since things can change so quickly, many employers are realizing that post-hire or reccurring employee background screening should be conducted at regular intervals for certain job categories or employment situations in order to mitigate business risk.


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