Whether you do it yourself or hire an outside vendor to run
some or all of these checks, it only makes sense to do the cheapest
ones first (like the reference check and Social Security Number
verification).
An employer with a pre-employment background checking
process that is reasonable and consistently followed can greatly
reduce exposure to negligent hiring and negligent retention claims.
What you can do
Whether you feel the need for extensive checks or not, every
employer needs to have these basic protective measures in place:
1) Get separate pre-employment waivers from all applicants to
conduct each of these checks: reference, drug, background, credit,
and criminal record. Do this whether you will run them or not.
These waivers put applicants on notice that you take hiring
seriously and have the right to verify and investigate their histories.
One immediate benefit: Many unfit applicants will “mysteriously
disappear” after signing these releases. (For a copy of a typical
reference release form, email me at mkleiman@humetrics.com with
“Ref Release Form” in the subject line.)
2) Before conducting an interview, preface the meeting with a
statement to this effect: “We are not willing to put ourselves at risk
for negligent hiring lawsuits and will check your references and
history thoroughly. If you’ve had any kind of a problem with drugs,
the law, your credit history, or on another job, if you tell me about it
now we can take it under consideration. But if you don’t tell me and
