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Background Checks

Make privacy a cornerstone of your culture

03/01/2005
Confidentiality can quickly become a legal issue in many workplace decisions and activities.

Request birth date only after conditional job offer

03/01/2005

Q. We don’t ask applicants for their age or birth date on our application. But we plan to start conducting background checks on applicants whom we’re seriously considering. The company that will conduct the checks for us said the birth date is on all the applications they see and that it’s instrumental to conducting the checks. What should we do? —V.T., Wyoming

It IS your business: Protect domestic-violence victims at work

01/01/2005
Issue: Your role and responsibilities when it comes to domestic violence in the workplace.
Risk: Doing nothing risks lives, safety, morale, lawsuits and your bottom line.
Action: Take the …

5 ways to avoid legal risks of converting temps to regular staff

11/01/2004
Issue: More employers are testing job candidates by hiring them as temps first.
Risk: Temps converted to regular staff often fly under the radar of pre-employment checks, plus create other …

Learn from the big dog’s mistake; check applicants’ crime records

10/01/2004
America’s largest employer, Wal-Mart, recently announced that it will begin running criminal background checks on job candidates.
The decision comes on the heels of two incidents in which employees with …

Converting temps to regular staff? Beware legal hazards

09/01/2004
One of the first indicators of an improving job market is a rise in temporary-help jobs. Why? Many organizations, still cautious about taking on full-time employees, test the market first by …

Obtain applicant’s approval before calling previous boss

09/01/2004

Q. I’d like to contact an applicant’s former employer, but that employer wasn’t included in the applicant’s reference list. Can I call the employer anyway? —A.T., Wyoming

Look beneath résumé cliches for the truth

09/01/2004
Login Email Address Password I forgot my password To continue reading this page, become an HR Specialist Premium Plus member today! Your subscription includes: Ask the Attorney: Answers to your HR legal questions Compliance Guidance: Access to 7,000 HR news articles, updated daily, sorted by state State-by-State: Summaries of HR laws in all 50 states […]

Tap federal program to gain ‘insurance’ on risky hires

09/01/2004
Issue: You face risks when hiring ex-cons, recovering addicts and other “second-chance” applicants. Benefit: A little-known federal program makes it easier …

Warn managers never to disclose medical info about former workers

08/01/2004
When checking applicants’ references, some employers like to do an “end run” around the HR department. They’ll call the applicant’s former supervisor directly to find out the dirt on the person. …