To credit check or not to credit check?
The popular KnowHR blog recently ran a post that generated lots of comment from HR types. The title was A Master’s Class in Hiring a Person With Credit Wrecked By Bad Health and Being Laid Off. The blogger shared the story of a person who'd been out of work for some time because of medical problems. Because he was out of work and had medical bills, his credit suffered. The blogger asked how other HR people would handle the use of a credit report in hiring or not hiring the person. The discussion devolved into a question of whether or [...]
Fitting Your Background Check to Your Hiring Strategy
The Macon Telegraph recently ran a story with this provocative headline: "Problem principals: Bibb school leaders had problems at previous jobs." Here's the lead. In the past 18 months, four Bibb County principals were investigated for allegations ranging from choking a student and mismanaging federal money to testing blunders and having an affair with a subordinate. Three of the principals had repeated problems in previous jobs, and the other one was the subject of several complaints before he was placed on paid leave and then resigned, school records show. Those "problems in previous jobs" are the things that background checks [...]
How do they steal? Let me count the ways
Theft you will always have with you. The fact is that people steal. They will steal from you. They will steal from you no matter what you do. You can throw up your hands and let the thieves have their way. Or do something about it. Start by being aware of some of the many ways that employees steal. It comes to you courtesy of one of the standard professional references: The Small Business Fraud Manual from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Here are just a few ways that employees can get into your pocket. They steal cash. They [...]
Trouble Ahead
I love old black-and-white Western movies. One standard scene involved two trains speeding through the country toward each other. You knew that if something didn't happen, there'd be a big, nasty wreck. That's the scene in business today. Except, instead of two trains we've got screening practices and legislative efforts to make sure that everyone gets a fair shot at a job speeding toward each other. Over the last decade, more and more companies have started using criminal background checks and pre-employment credit screening. There's nothing wrong with that. But many of the employers who've climbed on the background screening [...]
E-RACE and You
Recently, HR Morning carried an article titled: "EEOC warns about background checks." It's about the E-RACE program. Here's a core paragraph. "The EEOC program designed to combat discriminatory practices tied to background checks is called E-RACE (Eradicating Racism And Colorism from Employment). It started when the agency noted, in the last few years, a steep climb in complaints from applicants who said they were unfairly excluded from competing for a job because of information that showed up on a background check." The key word here is "unfairly." If you're using background checks the right way you should be in compliance [...]