According to a recent study conducted by J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc., “55% of 161 HR professionals surveyed said they have discovered outright lies on resumes or applications when conducting pre-employment background or reference checks.”
Even though this is a small sample, the numbers look similar to other studies I’ve seen about the amount of bad information on resumes and applications. But the authors of this study make another important point.
Edwin Zalewski, a human resources subject matter expert with J. J. Keller & Associates believes that the 55 percent figure might just be the tip of the iceberg. He points out that 24 percent of the HR professionals his firm polled didn’t do background checks at all. They have no clue if they’re being lied to or not.
This is definitely not a case where ignorance is bliss. One important reason for doing a criminal background check on everyone you hire is to avoid exposure to a charge of negligent hiring.
Negligent hiring works this way. If you don’t exercise “reasonable care” in the hiring process, you can be held liable if someone you hire harms others, physically or otherwise.
Here’s something else to think about. The courts can hold you liable for negligent hiring if you “should have known” about the risk a person you hire might pose to others. In other words, it’s up to you to check the person’s application and background and use due diligence in your process. Not checking is a real risk.