Restoration News: Be Careful with Background Checks
Most restoration contractors are using background checks as part of the hiring process. Many experts also agree that not using background checks can put your business at risk as you don’t full know who you are bringing in.
A new employee will have access to your customers, secured files, computer data, and possibly cash so it’s important you know who you are bringing in and if you should have any concerns about their background.
Restoration Contractors Should Be Careful
Employment background checks generally include three main components: criminal record check, employment history and education verification.
Criminal Record Check
For criminal record checks, employers should focus on convictions that could affect the person’s ability to perform their job. Just having a conviction isn’t enough to disqualify a candidate from consideration. Employers must learn more about the conviction to determine if it will hinder their ability to perform their job.
If you are unable to show a clear connection between the criminal record and job duties, you could put yourself at serious risk for a potential lawsuit.
Education & Employment History
When it comes to education and employment history, employers are simply confirming that what they wrote on their application/resume is true. Not only will this confirm the candidate’s work skills, but it will also put up red flags if you find out the person has been dishonest.
Social Media
Many restoration companies are also checking social media accounts to learn more about a potential hire. There are also risk associated with checking those accounts as you may inadvertently find about someone’s religious affiliation, family status, or disability opening you up to potential litigation.
Tips for a Proper Background Check
Use a background check services vendor with a good reputation that provides you with clear, accurate and complete written reports.
Have specific reasons for wanting to know certain information to make a hiring decision, which should be tailored for each type of job, and limit the scope of the background check to only that information. For example, you would want to know if a delivery driver candidate has a lot of speeding tickets, and you would want to confirm whether a person applying for a lawyer job graduated from college and law school, but you should not be checking every job-seeker’s driving record or educational background.
Background check reports contain a lot of personal and potentially embarrassing information, so you should keep them in a secure place at your company and limit who can read them.
The last you want is for your restoration company to be sued by a job applicant for discrimination and possibly investigated or fined by a government agency such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
