For each “tip of the month” this year we will focus on 12 different recommendations for creating a non-discriminatory employment background screening program.
When an employer decides to hire or promote an employee they should have a non-discriminatory legally compliant background screening program in place. Not only does this help employers ensure they are hiring the right person for the position, it also limits exposure to negligent hiring claims.
For this month we will focus on the question, “why is it a good idea to do background checks?”
It is estimated that a negligent hiring claim can cost a company up to $300,000 in damages. If it’s a class action claim, then that number can increase into the millions. No consider that job applicants tend to falsify their resumes and/or job applications: on average 30% of resumes misrepresent the truth (specifically, education and employment history).
Here are other advantages of performing employment background checks:
Workplace Violence
One out of every six crimes occurs in the workplace and homicide is the second leading cause of workplace death in the U.S.
Education Falsification
National Credit Verification Service reports that 25% of the MBA degrees it verifies on resumes are false.
Statistics
72% of shrinkage is due to employee theft.
34% of all job applications contain lies.
30% of small business failure is caused by employee theft.
