Background Checks

I-9 audits again hit record; get forms in compliance

10/02/2014

Heads up: Your odds of getting hit with an audit of your I-9 forms took another jump last year.

How honest can I be when called for a reference on a subpar former employee?

09/19/2014

Q. I recently fired one of my employees, but today another company called me, stating that the former employee marked me down on a job application as an employment reference. Can I tell the prospective employer about how terrible an employee this person was?

Is it OK to have a blanket policy of rejecting applicants with criminal histories?

09/19/2014

Q. I believe I should be able to refuse employment to any prospective employee with a record of criminal conviction. Can I institute a blanket policy that bars employment to applicants with criminal records? Also, what can I ask applicants about their criminal records?

How frank can we be with references?

09/17/2014

Q. We recently received a reference request from another company. We would like to be honest with the potential employer about the former employee’s performance issues. The employee was unreliable, did not get along with co-workers, and was always complaining to his supervisor about our business practices without any basis. Are there risks to being honest and giving the employee a bad reference?

Know the legal risks of social media background checks

09/02/2014

What are the dangers when verifying applicants’ credentials, checking out their professional networks or just feeling out their personalities?

Minnesota DHS modernizes its background-check procedures

08/18/2014

Using a $3 million federal grant, the Minnesota Department of Human Services will implement new practices for running background checks on employees who work with children and vulnerable adults. The new procedures will begin in January, implementing new fingerprinting and photographing legislation Gov. Mark Dayton signed in May.

Justice Department: Don’t share I-9 forms with outside vendors

06/17/2014

Can a paycard vendor request access to an employer’s I-9 data so it can verify the identity of the employees to whom it will be issuing paycards? The DOL has weighed in on the question.

Lying about criminal record? That’s grounds for firing–with no unemployment!

05/22/2014

While most Minnesota employers can no longer ask about an applicant’s criminal record until after the grant of a job interview offer (or, if there is no interview, a conditional employment offer), that doesn’t mean the applicant or new employee can lie about his criminal record later.

Employers pay big for making up own I-9 document requirements

05/16/2014

Take too lax an approach to reviewing identity documents for the purpose of completing I-9 forms and you could run afoul of the Immigration Reform and Control Act. But as two employers learned in April, imposing overly rigorous document requirements on workers can violate the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Know the law: Background checks continue to trip up employers

04/14/2014

If you don’t follow the rules, background checks can cause more trouble than they prevent. Your background process can also become the basis for a class-action lawsuit.