Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Conducting background checks for employment requires employers to strike a balance between getting enough information to make an informed hiring decision and not overstepping the boundaries into areas that might infringe upon employee privacy. Additionally, as with many other employment laws, California has specific rules that are stricter than the federal regulations—California employers need to […]
Yesterday, we got some insights on background checks from Jared Callahan, a licensed private investigator and the director of client services for Employment Screening Resources (ESR) in Novato. Today, his thoughts on two more common “checks”: fingerprint checks and reference checks.
I ran a background check on an employee I just hired and discovered that she faces serious criminal charges pending a hearing but has not been convicted. Some of the charges (to name a few) are assault in the first and second degree and theft over $500. Technically she didn’t lie on the application because […]
We’ve had two bad hiring experiences in which we found out later that candidates misrepresented certain areas of their background. Now, we want to improve our background checks. What can you recommend? — Isabella, HR Staffing Specialist in Oakland
We’re trying to set up our policy for doing reference checks on final applicants. Can you help us with some basic guidelines? What if the former employers won’t talk? Job Descriptions in California: How To Tackle Tricky Drafting Hurdles Job descriptions can be your best friend or your worst enemy from both a practical and […]
We want to standardize our procedures for doing pre-employment background checks. What guidelines should we set up for which applicants get which checks? For example, who gets a criminal background check? Motor vehicle? Credentials verification? What do you recommend? — Ronald L., Office Manager in Chico
When we are hiring, we run a DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) check on the applicants. If it shows a DUI (Driving Under the Influence) conviction five years or more in the past, we usually go ahead and hire the person. But if the DUI is within five years, we don’t hire the person. I’m […]
I understand that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, we shouldn’t make an offer of employment until we have done all our other evaluative processes. For example, we should say the offer is contingent on passing a physical. But our hiring managers put pressure on us to get the offer out before we get a […]