Are pre-employment credit checks discriminatory?
Sometimes you hear people complain about the use of pre-employment credit checks as part of the hiring process. They say, "My bad credit shouldn't be an issue in whether I can do the job. I'm being discriminated against." Are they right? Kansas City Star business columnist Diane Stafford takes up that issue in her recent column titled: Credit checks a legal part of pre-employment investigations Her bottom line is that "credit checks are a legal and in some cases appropriate part of pre-employment investigations. And there's only a glimmer of a chance that credit checks might be considered discriminatory." In [...]
What are you missing?
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. [...]
To outsource or not to outsource
HRO Today just carried an article about outsourcing background checks with the title "Staffing Firm Finds a Better Option In Outsourcing Screening Services." According to the story, A privately held staffing company based in Seattle, Parker Staffing Service, LLC, provides temporary, contract, and full-time work in administrative, call center, IT, IS, development, QA, healthcare IT, and sales and marketing positions. Its staffing division focuses on the Pacific Northwest, while the technical and search divisions place candidates nationwide. In 1999, Parker decided to outsource background checks on every candidate it placed. Doing background checks on every candidate is a good idea. [...]
EEOC issues fact sheet on employment tests and selection procedures
The US Economic Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reports that charges of job discrimination based on the use of criminal background checks, credit reports, and other screening tools in hiring increased by more than four times between fiscal years 2003 and 2006. To help businesses understand and comply with the laws related to background checks and other tests, the EEOC has issued a new fact sheet on Employment Tests and Selection Procedures. Here's a list of the kinds of tests covered by the fact sheet. Cognitive tests assess reasoning, memory, perceptual speed and accuracy, and skills in arithmetic and reading comprehension, as [...]
Checking out Santa for a store near you
Some days I think I've lived too long. One of them was when I caught a story in Florida today about the new reality of being Santa. "Santa gets a makeover" was the title, but the story wasn't about fashion at all. It was about the changing reality of being Santa Claus. Today it seems, Santa not only undergoes a background check, but needs insurance and has a very strict code of conduct. You would hope that if there was anyone you can trust it would be Santa Claus. But the companies hiring people to play that role today don't [...]
More background checks for aviation workers
Under the headline "Aviation workers soon to get more criminal checks," USA Today writes about changes that are coming for workers at America's airlines. "More than a million aviation workers — including pilots, mechanics and flight attendants — will begin undergoing more thorough background checks in January as the U.S. focuses on preventing insider terrorist attacks." The government is trying to head off terrorist attacks, but there are side benefits to the background checks that are the same as what you get when you incorporate criminal background checks in your hiring process. You get a safer workplace and a lowered [...]