In the United States background checks have become commonplace in a variety of areas. In each sector background screening fulfills needs like finding out education and employment history, income verification, social security number validation, criminal history records and sex offender history. Of all the areas of the background screening industry the area most recently in the spotlight is employment screening. The use of background checks like criminal background checks has been under review and subsequent State laws outline how and when criminal background checks can be performed in the hiring process. Also with the EEOC on the offensive with litigation going up against large corporations regarding their hiring process and enforcing disparate impact even if the employment screening procedures do not discriminate on surface levels, the focus primarily is on the use of background checks in the employment arena.
The primary reason given for employers to perform criminal history checks on potential and current employees is to reduce risk. Risk mitigation is usually at the center of background screening along with creating a safe working place for employees, protecting at-risk populations and to avoid negligent hiring lawsuits.
It is clear that the primary factor in each background screening sector is risk mitigation and to protect at-risk populations like children and the elderly in the case of volunteer background screening and in home caregivers.
Recently Melissa Sorenson, executive director of the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) said, “Screening was uncommon for employers 30 years ago, but popularity of background checks has risen significantly in the last 15 years”. She went on to say that “the Internet is a big factor, along with amount and availability of information, decreased costs of screenings and a rising desire among employers for risk mitigation”. It is clear that risk mitigation is the core proponent for the increased use of background screening, but also very high on the list is to protect at-risk populations.
With background checks being used for employment screening, tenant screening, volunteer screening and caregiver background screening the amount of background checks being performed in the USA keeps rising. With the increasing popularity of background screening it is important to note that there are multiple ways to get background information. Due to the many ways to access background data it is important for individuals, companies and organizations to use a professional third party background screening company to conduct background checks on their behalf. There are many websites and companies that provide background information and many ways to access public records, but only a professional background screening company can assist their clients in performing background checks legally and can help explain how and when employers can conduct criminal history checks. They can also assist in the creation or modification of employment screening policies to help ensure they are thorough and consistent. A professional background screening company can also make sure the records provided are accurate, up to date and complete. They can also facilitate such requests as expungement and can send out a professional court researcher to any county in the country to verify information.
To learn more about the areas of common background screening and how background checks are a big piece of risk mitigation, along with why professional background screening companies should be used in the hiring process please read recent CriminalBackgroundRecords.com press release.